


The First

by ZoeTheFirst



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 112,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27152942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoeTheFirst/pseuds/ZoeTheFirst
Summary: What if Alby wasn't the first to enter the maze? What if Teresa wasn't the first girl? Newt/OC
Relationships: Gally/Newt/Thomas (Maze Runner)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Alone

Chapter 1  
I am alone.  
I don't know how long I have been sat in the dark; waiting, listening, for any hint of life outside the small container I'm crouched in. Sucking in a breath, I push at the ceiling. After a moment it gives and light begins to stream into what I can now see as a box, filled with objects I have never seen before. I stand up, cautiously looking around to see if I can see anyone. I can't. I'm alone.


	2. The Glade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Adjusting to the brightness of the light, my senses soon become overwhelmed with sights, smells and sounds. Field bleeds into woodland so perfectly, I must be dreaming. The sweet smell of fresh air and grass cling to the hair in my nose. I can feel the sides of my mouth begin to lift. Then something catches my eye. Tall, looming walls surround me. Jumping out of the box I slowly begin to walk over to one of the walls. There's a hole in the wall, sort of a door but, not a door. As I look down the long straight passageway before me, a sense of foreboding begins to settle in the pit of my stomach. Do these walls surround this whole place? I follow it round the field, right hand never leaving the wall. I walk through the woodland as the wall keeps going. Over large hills and deep holes, I stay parallel to it. Before I know it I am back where I started. Round? This... glade is round. Glade? Yeah, glade. That suits.  
Walking to the centre of the Glade I lay down on the grass. How did I get here? Who sent me here? As I think about these questions something shocking suddenly strikes me. Who am I? What's my name? Where are my parents? Who are my parents? I can feel my breaths begin to shorten and a familiar tightening in my chest. 'Breathe', I tell myself. After a few moments I can feel my heartbeat returning to normal. A sudden deafening crunching noise rings out throughout the Glade. 'What is that?' I shout, even though I know there is no-one there to answer me. My eyes try to find the source of the noise and I see it coming from the wall? Out of the sides of the wall slabs of concrete are moving to cover the entrance to the passageway. I bolt forward trying to reach the wall before it shuts me in. I can hear my blood pumping in my ears. 20 meters, 15 meters, 10 meters. I stop as the wall shuts with a bang. 'I'm trapped' I think to myself as I sink to the floor. Tears begin to prick my eyes. 'No!' I whisper.  
Curious dreams plague me that night, as I sleep in the box. Bright lights blind me. Loud noises deafen me. People are screaming. 'Kira!' a voice shouts. I wake up with a start. Kira. My name is Kira.


	3. Alby

Chapter 3

The familiar groaning of the walls opening wakes me that that morning. I roll over (not very glamorously), in my hammock and cross off another day on the tally I have started to keep. 30 days. 1 whole month. I have been alone in the Glade for a month. 'Feels like it' I grumble to myself. Stretching out my muscles, I walk across the Glade to see the progress of my tomatoes. I had found some seeds when I finally decided to look at the objects in the box with that arrived here with me. With the constant sunlight and the constant water supply I had found in the woods they grow amazingly well. I sit down and begin to pick the ripe ones of a small vine. Carrying them back in the bag I had also found in the box, I put them in the house I have started to build. It took me a while to realise that the people who have put me here obviously wanted me to survive as they have given me seeds and the wherewithal to make shelter for myself. A loud claxon interrupts my thoughts. That isn't a sound I have heard before, and it seems to be coming from the box?! More supplies? I creep up to the outside of the box once the claxon has ceased and opened the lid. I jump as a voice from inside says 'Please don't hurt me!' Sitting on the floor of the box… is a boy.

Another human! Oh, I might cry! He looks terrified.  
'Hey, its okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Kira. What's your name?'  
He looks up at me with confusion morphing into panic. 'I, I don't know. I can't remember. Why can't I remember anything!?' I see him starting to panic. I need him to calm down.  
'Don't worry, your name will come back to you soon. Mine did! The rest,' I pause 'Not so much.'  
I offer him my hand to help him out the box, however as I reach down a cage shakes next to him. I yank my hand out, gasping. Slowly I pull away the cloth covering it. A pig.  
'It's a pig?' I say in confusion. 'Where am I supposed to put animals?' I shout at the heavens. Jumping down into the box I begin to search through the remaining contents of the box. More seeds, more weapons. 'Nice!' I say pulling a machete out from behind the boy. I swing it about a bit getting a feel for the weight.  
'How long have you been here?' the boy asks.  
'A month.' I say not really paying attention to him. Then something hits me. 'A month', I say 'Exactly a month!' The pieces slot together in my head. The size of the Glade. The increase in weapons, too many for two. The increase in supplies. 'There are gonna be more. More people!' I shout. Jumping out of the box, I help the boy out and hug him. 'More people!'  
'Right,' he says looking at me strangely. 'Have you been alone this whole month?'  
'Yeah, well not if you include the Grievers!' I say walking away to the homestead thinking about where to put the boy.  
'Grievers!' he shouts 'What are Grievers? Kira!' He runs after me. I whirl around and he has to halt quickly to stop himself from running into me.  
'Rules.' I say. 'I need to tell you the rules.'  
'Rules?' he questions.  
'Yes rules. Okay rule number 1: do your bit. If we are expecting new people we are going to have to expand this place massively.' I say pointing at the homestead and gesturing at the Glade around me. 'Tomatoes just ain't gonna cut it.'  
'Tomatoes?' he whispers.  
'Yes tomatoes, stop repeating. We are gonna need somewhere to put the animals and somewhere to cook and sleep the others and…' I trail off. The boy is looking at me expectantly. 'What?' I say.  
'The rules.' He reminds me.  
'Right, um, rule 2: don't hurt me or any other...' I stop trying to think of a work to call ourselves? 'Glader.'  
'Glader?' he says.  
'That's what I'm going to call us. Gladers. People that live on the Glade. That's where you are. The Glade.' I ramble.  
'Okay' he nods.  
'Rule 3,' I say leading him to the hole in the wall. 'Rule 3 is that you don't go out there.' I say pointing down the passage.  
'Why not,' the boy asks.  
'Because I said so.' I snap. He looks at me.  
'Have you been out there?' he says softly. I look down at the floor.  
'Yeah.' I whisper. 'Let's build you somewhere to sleep,' I say walking off to the homestead. The boy stays staring at the passage. 'Oi,' I shout. He pulls his eyes away from it. 'Come on, I want to show you how to build a hammock.' I say. He nods and follows me into the homestead. That night as I lay in my hammock listening to the boy's soft snores, I think about the last month. The silence. 'Never again,' I whisper with a smile. The next morning I hear the boy shouting. I run as fast as I can to him and see him with a huge smile on his face.  
'ALBY!' he shouts. 'I'M ALBY!' He runs towards me and hugs me. I laugh pulling away.  
'It’s very nice to meet you Alby,' I declare.


	4. Flashbacks

Chapter 4

Over the next 3 years, like clockwork, every month we would get a new Glader (or Greenie as Nick likes to call them. It was this big thing about green beans and them being new… I guess you had to be there?). Third to the team was Nick. Kinda lanky. Tried to run away. I got him. Next was George, then Newt, Siggy (Frypan –thusly named as he is an amazing cook), Hank, Gally, Minho, Jackson, Stephen, Clint, Jeff, Winston… you get the jist. I have been here for nearly 3 years and so far after 33 new Greenies am still the only girl. Not that that effects my leadership, oh no, Alby and I make a great team. He's the brawn, I'm the brain, good cop, bad cop… etc. etc.

'KIRA!' a voice from outside the homestead called. This wasn't a good shout, something was wrong. I ran outside.  
'WHAT! WHAT'S HAPPENED?' I scream running out.  
'It's Hank,' Newt says. 'He's been stung.' I stood shocked.  
'Griever?' I say quietly. He nods. I nod. There is silence, then Hank's terrible screams breach that silence with the power of a gunshot. I wince at the sound looking at Newt as he does the same. Clint and Jeff (our med jacks) run over to him to try and help but we all know what happens when you get stung.  
'I'll try to make him comfortable,' Clint says to me as we walk over.  
'Thanks.' I say trying to seem strong when inside I feel like screaming. 'Newt, can you find Alby for me' I say walking back to the homestead. I sit on my hammock trying not to shout. Alby walks in with a surrendered look on his face. I look at him.  
'Hanks the third.' I say to Alby. 'The third I'm going to have to bury because I let you lot convince me that going back into the maze was a good idea!' I say with a quiet fury boiling under my skin.  
'It is a good idea. The runners are the best hope we have of getting out of here!' Alby says calmly, used to my outbursts by now.  
'NOT IF THEY'RE DEAD THEY'RE NOT!' I scream. I immediately feel guilty for shouting at him. It's not his fault, he is right. He looks at me sympathetically. 'Sorry, I know your right, I'm just so shuckin' fed up with burying our own you know. First George, then Jackson, now Hank. Then we have Stephen not coming back after getting stuck out there overnight.' I sit back down on my hammock putting my head in my hands.  
'I know it's tough okay, but you're their leader. You have to stay strong for them. For us.' Alby looks at me. 'You can do this.' I sigh. Alby is the only one that can calm me down like this. He always has been able too.

**FLASHBACK**

**'I don't want to talk about it Alby,' I shouted slamming the door to my hammock room. He was pestering me about what was behind the walls. He had been here for nearly a month now and hadn't let up. I could feel my anger bubbling up under the surface of my skin. I heard him come and sit outside my door.  
'Your hair is brown,' he said. What? How is that related? I almost threw open the door and yelled at him until I thought about what he said. My hair is brown? I hadn't ever though to look at my appearance. There always seemed to be more important things to do. I sat down on my side of the door. 'What kind of brown?' I asked softly after a few minutes.  
'Sort of dark, like the bark of the trees in the woods.' He responded.  
'You don't have much hair.' I pointed out. 'It's very short and black, and feels funny when I touch it,' I laughed to myself. Alby didn't like people touching his hair.  
'Your eyes are brown too, different though. Darker almost black when your angry but lighter when you're in a good mood.' Alby said quietly. I smiled, I wasn't angry often but when I was, I was really angry. I expect he would get used to that.  
Your eyes are dark too, they match your skin in a way.' I said to him through the door.  
'Hmm, I sound very handsome!' he joked through the door.  
'Very!' I said sarcastically standing up and opening the door.  
'I won't pester you in future' he said quietly.  
'Yes you will,' I said with a smile.  
**We walked out of the homestead and straight into Newt.  
'Everything okay Kira,' he said to us.  
'Yeah everything's good Newt. You know how I get.' I uttered quietly so only he could hear me. Newt was different from the other Gladers. He didn't take everything I said at face value and made an effort to get to know me as Kira the person, as well as Kira the leader. Only two people ever saw the weaker side of me and that was Alby and Newt. Alby and I are best friends, have been from the very beginning. Newt though… we have more in common than even Alby knows.

**FLASHBACK**

**'What happened' I asked Alby as I watched Clint and Jeff stretcher Newt in from the maze.  
'He jumped.' Alby stated.  
'What' I gasped.  
'Off a wall in the maze. He climbed up the vines and jumped. Said he couldn't do it anymore.' And with that Alby left the Med Jacks cabin. I sat down beside Newt and told the med jacks to do everything they could for him. Newt woke up a few hours later. I asked Jeff and Clint to leave so I could talk to Newt in private. Newt sat on the bed, just looking at his legs.  
'Is this the part when you tell me how bloody stupid I am.' I look at him.  
'Hey don't knock the accent. You bloody well have the same one.' I say eyeing him. He cracked a small smile. 'No,' I say 'I'm not going to berate you about it.' I paused making a decision. 'You know I was the first Glader here right. That I spent the first month on my own.' I asked softly.  
'Yeah, Ably told me,' he replied.  
'Well did he also tell you that I forbid him to go into the maze?' Newt looked at me shocked, then curious. 'In that first month, I went out there, in the maze. One night I was running back to the Glade when I tripped on a vine. Twisted my ankle really badly. It was purple and swollen. Bit like your leg!' I looked at him to see if he was listening. He was looking down at his legs but still flicking his eyes to me. 'I was running out of time to get back to the Glade before the walls shut. I was moving as fast as I could. As I rounded a corner I saw a Griever at the end of the path. For a moment I seriously considered drawing attention to myself and letting it kill me.' Newt's head whirled around to face me. I couldn't look at him. I continued, 'Obviously at that time I had no idea what happened it got you but I knew that whoever put me here was keeping me safe from these creatures at night so they were surely dangerous. But then I thought, I'm on my own. The only person who is going to make life better for myself is me and I'm not going to do that by killing myself. So I waited for it to leave and returned to the Glade. But that experience left such a mark on me that I wouldn't let Alby go in. He was so tiny back then. Hadn't had his growth spurt that turned him into a bloody giant.' I laughed and continued, 'Then when more and more tall, muscular guys who could handle themselves came up in the box Alby convinced me to let them go back in the maze. But still to this day I have never gone back in.' I finally looked Newt in the eye. 'Don't be ashamed of what happened, just make sure that everything you do now will make your life and those around you better. And if you don't go back in the maze then you can help me round here whilst Alby runs it. You can be my second-in-command.' Newt looked at me shocked. Then he looked down at my hands red and raw from where I had writhed them together when telling him the story. He grabbed them both and said,  
'If I'm not going to be ashamed of what I did maybe it's time you let what you almost did go. I can see you still think about it.' My eyes dropped to the floor. We sat in silence hand in hand until the med jacks knocked on the door to see how Newt was feeling. I got up, squeezed Newt's hands and left the cabin.**

'How's Hank,' I asked Newt.  
'As comfortable as can be, I guess.' Newt responded.  
'Does everyone know?' Alby asked.  
'Yeah, they are saying they're goodbyes now. There is one thing though. Hank wants you to do it, Kira.' Newt said softly. I knew this was coming, he has always said if he ever got stung he wanted me to kill him before he hurt anyone. I nodded.  
'Yeah I know. Alby can you go see if everyone had said their goodbyes.' I asked.  
'Sure.' Alby walked away towards the med cabin. I looked at Newt.  
'Do you have my knife,' I whispered not looking at him. He put his hand on my shoulder.  
'You don't have to do this.' He said delicately.  
'Yes I do.' I looked at him, tears prickling at my eyes. 'I owe him that.' He passed me a small sharp knife and I headed towards the med jack cabin.  
'Everyone's done' Alby states. I look around at the surrounding Gladers faces. A mixture of tears, sadness and hard faces looked back at me. I walked into the cabin and gingerly shut the door.

Hank's breathing is laboured and he's crying. I kneel down next to the bed he is on.  
'Hank, it's Kira. Listen to my voice Hank. You are a wonderful person and I am proud to have known you. All the guys will miss you desperately Hank, but you're going to a better place now. With your family and no walls, no grievers and no maze.' I hum a tune to him and it seems to calm him down. I'm not sure where the tune came from but I hummed it to George and Jackson as well. I slide the knife into the carotid artery in his neck as I carry on humming to him. A lone tear slips down my cheek and drops onto his face. I close his eyes and leave the cabin.  
The baggers file in after I leave and we all head to the Deadheads. We watch as the baggers bury Hank and Gally puts down a wooden headstone. It reads: Here lies Hank, the smartest klunk around. We smile at the message. Hank was not especially bright but he had the right spirit. Gally would always say that he would always be smarter than a klunk. The boys who can speak take turns to say something they loved about Hank. By the end no-body had a tear left. We sombrely walked to the name wall and Gally carved a line through Hanks name. When the boys first arrived Alby would give them the tour and I would show them the wall of names and show them how to carve their own. This was the worst bit though. A permanent record of my failures. The ones I couldn't save. One by one the boys left the wall and went to bed. Hopefully tomorrow would be a better day.


	5. Life in the Glade

Chapter 5

It had been a week since Hank had been stung and life in the Glade was returning back to normal. I could tell that some of the boys were still having a hard time; everyone had loved Hank. Gally in particular. Hank had been the greenie before Gally so he showed him around the more specific parts of the glade that Alby hadn't covered in his tour. They had been really close ever since. Hank had shown Gally how to build using the small amount of tools we had.  
'I should probably see if he is okay.' I say to myself. As I head over to the east side of the homestead, where Gally and the builders are expanding the sleeping areas, I see Newt standing by the opening in the wall. I make a mental note to ask him about that later.  
'Gally,' I call as he comes into view. 'Can you come help me inside please?' He nods, telling the remaining builders what to do in his absence. Gally is now the Keeper of the builders so they look to him for instruction. He follows me into the homestead.  
'What's up Kira,' he asks. I look at his face trying to judge the situation. I decide to be blunt.  
'You okay, with Hank and everything?' He looks at the floor trying to decide what to say.  
After a minute he says, 'Honestly?' I nod. 'No.'  
'You wanna talk?' I ask. He sighs sitting down on the floor. I follow his lead.  
'He was my first friend here,' He sighs. 'All of my happiest memories in this place, he's there, laughing with me.'  
'I remember what he was like when you came up in the box. He liked you instantly. He practically begged me to let him show you around. He was the last greenie so he wanted to prove he could do it, but he wanted to hang out with you. I remember asking him about you a couple of weeks later and he called you 'the brother he doesn't remember having.'' Gally laughed as a tear trickled down his cheek. 'You two were good for each other. He barley spoke before you came up.'  
'So it's my fault he wouldn't ever shut up,' Gally laughed.  
'Little bit,' I shrugged with a smile on my face. Gally sat in silence with a small smile on his face. 'You know Hank, he wouldn't want you to be upset. He would want you to remember the good times. Like when you hid all of Frypan's ingredients and he almost had a heart attack.'  
'Or when we locked you and Alby in the homestead and wouldn't let you out until you roomed us together.' Gally added.  
'Or when I taught the two of you how to fight and you would try and surprise attack each other for about 4 months.' I laughed at the memories of Hank surfacing.  
'Yeah, he never did get me back for the attack in the klunker.' Gally chuckled. I smiled at him.  
'This is how Hank would have wanted to be remembered. For his best moments.' I looked at him to see a content smile on his face.  
'Yeah, he's somewhere better now. With his family.' Gally's smile suddenly turned into a small frown. 'He didn't suffer for long did he? You know when you…' he trailed off.  
'No,' I said 'He bled out quickly. He almost looked calm at the end. Like he wasn't in pain anymore.' Gally turned to me and hugged me.  
'Don't tell anyone about this, yeah. I have a reputation to uphold.' Gally asked softly. As he let me go I said, 'And we wouldn't want anyone to know you actually have a heart, would we.'  
'Oh no, definitely not.' Gally agreed. He stood up and went to leave the homestead. Just as he reached the door he turned back. 'Thanks Kira.' He said quietly.  
'Anytime,' I replied.

Later that day I heard a whoop from the kitchens. I walked over to see Zart holding out some fresh vegetables that he had picked from the fields. Frypan was hugging a carrot like it was his long lost child. We had been given the stuff for carrots a few boxes back and Fry had been so excited ever since.  
'Alright Fry?' I called over. He looked up at me with genuine tears of joy in his eyes.  
'Yeah I'm good,' He called back. I continued to walk over to the boys.  
'Need any help Fry? Obviously I'll leave the carrots to you,' I joked. Fry nodded his head.  
'Could you peel these potatoes for me?' I walked over to the potatoes and started peeling. I watched Fry carefully chop up the carrots into perfect sticks. Fry was an interesting person. He came up in the box and barely spoke until he saw Nick butchering up some ingredients and screamed at him. 'You have to respect the food! It won't taste good it you butcher it like meat!' Nick looked at Fry shocked as he bustled past Nick pulling the knife out of his hands and began re-chopping the veg. At the time we were lost for words but we soon learned that Fry is very passionate about food and ingredients. Once I has finished the potatoes I walked over to Fry. 'Hey have you seen Newt today?' I asked.  
'Yeah I saw him earlier talking to Alby about something.' Frypan said without looking up from what he was doing.  
'Cheers.' I said walking off to look for Alby or Newt. Walking through the Glade I bump into Minho.  
'Hey Minho, everything alright?' I ask. He looked up at me and scowls.  
'No, the med jacks can't do anything for my leg,' Minho had hurt his leg earlier in the week and Alby and I had decided to take him off running for the time being. He was miserable. 'I'm gonna have to wait for it to heal up on its own.' I sit down next to him.  
'What have they said you've done?' I asked him.  
'Fracture, from running too much,' he says simply.  
'How long til you can run again?' I ask knowing he wants to get back out there.  
'A couple of months!' he stresses. 'What am I supposed to do for a couple of months?' I think about it for a second.  
'How about,' I suggest 'You go to the map room and study the maps. We are finding new sections everyday now, but from what you have been telling me it seems like some are closed one day then open the next.' I look to Minho for conformation. He nods looking at me curiously. 'So we need to figure out which sections are open when, if there is an order, or if it is just random, if the sections differ we need to make a note of what is different about them because you never know it might mean something?' Minho stands up nodding quickly.  
'Good idea, maybe I can crack it from the map room and get us all out of here.' He sounds excited about the idea. He helps me up and limps quickly towards the map room. I smile after him. I'm glad he's doing something. Over the last few days he has been miserable just sitting about and healing. Minho doesn't like not being busy. He gets bored very easily unless he has got something to do.

I continue walking across the Glade when I spot Alby talking to the Keeper of the Slicers, Winston. I walk over to them and Winston catches my eye. He smiles at me and I smile back. Alby sees Winston smiling and turns round to look at me too.  
'Hey guys,' I say to the pair. 'Alby, have you seen Newt?' I ask.  
'Yeah, he is helping the track-hoes out in the fields.' Alby responds. Oh I hadn't thought to check the fields. 'Cheers Al, oh and if you need Minho he is in the map room.' I say walking away. As I walk I look round at the Glade and smile at everything we have built. Together. As a unit. It's funny looking back and thinking about what it was like when I first got here. How little I knew about this place and about myself. I smile to myself as I reach the fields and see Newt talking to Zart and the other track-hoes about something. I creep over to them, not making a sound and in my deepest, loudest voice I yell 'AND WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!' Everyone jumps and whirls round to see me clutching my stomach and laughing so hard that I can't breathe. Newt runs to me and picks me up from behind, spinning me around so I get so dizzy I can't stand anymore. I plonk myself on the floor watching Newt and the rest of the track-hoes join me in my laughter. Once the laughter has died down I say to Newt, 'Hey, can I talk to you?' He nods, helps me up and we begin to walk away from the fields. 'I saw you earlier, standing by the opening to the maze.' He looks at me with a small smile.  
'I was thinking about Minho.' He states. Minho? I look at him confused. He sees my confusion and clarifies. 'About the fact that we need another runner to take his place whilst he heals. We can't have Ben going out on his own.'  
'You considering it?' I ask slowly. He shakes his head.  
'With my leg? No, actually…' he pauses looking at me, 'I was thinking that maybe you would go.' I stand staring at him. Me? But I… I couldn't. Could I. It had been nearly 3 years since I last entered the maze. Maybe it was time to try again. Maybe it would be better than last time. I am definitely stronger and fitter and faster. Physically I could do it, but mentally…  
'I don't know Newt. It's been a long time.' I look at him. He has a look of understanding plastered all over his face.  
'I know.' He says, 'You don't have to decide now. Think about it.' He smiles at me.  
'Yeah I will.'  
'Are you okay?' Newt looks at me with a slight concerned gaze. I laugh. He could always tell. I stop walking. I look at Newt not really knowing what to say. I shrug my shoulders.  
'Why have we stopped here?' He asks. I look up and notice I have stopped in front of the name wall. I look up at Hank's name and trace the line through the middle with the fingers.  
'It's my fault.' Newt looks at me with surprise.  
'What? Why?' He probes.  
'I should have trained him harder. I knew he wasn't as fast as the rest of the runners but I let him go out in the maze anyway. We needed another runner, and he wanted to go, but he wasn't ready and I knew that.' Newt's mouth moves but no sound comes out. 'I was just so frightened because I knew I was the only other option but I couldn't bring myself to go. I was a coward and I got Hank killed.' I whispered feeling a tear roll down my face. I leave the wall and head to the deadheads. I could hear Newt trailing behind me. When he finally reaches me, I am standing in front of Hanks grave. 'I'm so sorry Hank, I'm so, so, sorry. I should've gone. You weren't ready. I should've run. Not you. It should have been me.' I ramble to the grave. I feel Newt's arm slide round my waist and I curl into him. 'It should've been me, it should've been me.' I repeated over and over again. Newt grabs my shoulders.  
'Bloody hell, Kira. Don't say that. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. None of us would be able to defend ourselves if it wasn't for you. The Glade would be chaos if it wasn't for you. I mean, come on 40-odd boys living alone. Chaos!' I chuckled. 'We wouldn't be able to get our shit together long enough for anything to be done. You are the glue that holds this whole community together.' I look at him for a moment ignoring the warm feeling growing in my stomach at his words. I smile softly. He uses the hands on my shoulders to pull me in for a hug. 'Don't doubt yourself K.' Inwardly my heart flutters at the nickname. Outwardly though I say, 'Okay, N!' Newt blushes as I chuckle. Damn it. Why did you make fun of him? You liked it. Damn, damn, damn. Pushing down my inner conflict over my choice in response I squeeze his hand and begin to walk back the Glade. I stop though realising something is bugging me over this conversation. 'How did you know?' I ask Newt.  
'What?' Newt says.  
'That I wasn't okay. Alby didn't even pick up on it.' I turn around to look at him. He looks to the ground.  
'I dunno, something wasn't right.' He answers vaguely. I look into his eyes trying to see what he was really thinking. Sometimes I think he knows me better than I know myself.  
'I'll do it.' I finally decide. Newt looks confused.  
'Hu?' He blinks.  
'I'll cover for Minho. In the maze.' And with that I walk away to tell Ably of my plans.


	6. The New Greenie

Chapter 6

‘No. Nope. No Way!’ Alby paced up and down the floor in front of me. I look at Newt and roll my eyes.  
‘It’s really not your decision Al,’ I remind him. He glares at me.   
‘Not 2 weeks ago you were having a go at me for persuading you to let us go in there, and now you want to run too?!’   
‘Yeah well now I am agreeing with you. Why are you so angry?’ I stare at him not understanding what the fuss was about.   
‘Why am I so…? I’m angry because you haven’t set foot in the maze in 3 years, the reason you won’t tell me, might I add, and now you want to jump back into it like everything is fine. You won’t be able to hack it!’ He bursts.   
I can feel my eyes narrow as I look up at him. I stand very slowly and walk over to him. He look back at me keeping eye contact. He can tell he has upset me; I can see it in his eyes. Before he can react I punch him in the face. He reels back clutching his nose. It’s bleeding.   
‘Say it again,’ I demand ‘Say I can’t hack it in the big scary maze!’   
‘Okay,’ he relents, ‘I deserved that one.’ I glare at him.   
‘I won’t be able to hack it.’ I laugh bitterly. ‘I taught you and the boys how to protect yourselves! You knew nothing before! Who was here first Alby? Who had to spend a whole month here on their own? Learning everything that you boys just got told when you got here! Me! Nothing got handed to me like you. You weren’t here. You don’t know what those first nights were like; sleeping in the box because there was no shelter. Going into the maze on my own trying to find a way out. Trying to grow food so I could eat something other than SHUCKIN’ TOMATOES!!!!’ My voice raised to a strong bellow. I was furious. I had enough issues doubting myself; I didn’t need Alby doubting me too.   
‘Kira, I wasn’t doubting how tough you are. I know you have had to deal with stuff that we couldn’t have dreamed of. I just meant that you haven’t run properly for a few years. We don’t know if you have the stamina to keep going the whole day!’ His voice has a slight edge to it. He’s pissed I punched him. I get it, I would be pissed if someone punched me too.  
‘If I say I can handle it, I can handle it.’ I said quietly walking out of the room. I can hear Alby sigh and say something to Newt but I ignore them both.  
I stride out the homestead and head towards back towards the forest. No-one tries to stop me, they all just look at me with anticipation. Tilting my head to the right I look and smile at the boys closest. They seem to take this as a sign everything is fine and continue with their work. The leaves crutch underneath my feet as I head towards the Map Room. I need to find Ben.   
‘Ah, speak of the devil,’ I say as I enter the Map Room. Minho, Ben and 2 other runners are crowded round the table in the centre of the room. As I enter they all look up smiling at me. I motion to Ben to come outside. He follows me without a word.   
‘Hey what’s up?’ He asks once we are outside.  
‘Tomorrow I’m going into the maze.’ I state. ‘With you.’ Ben’s mouth drops open.  
‘Are you sure,’ he questions with a raised eyebrow. I raise mine to match his. ‘Okay,’ he says raising his hands in surrender, seeing that I’m not going to change my mind. Before I can say anything else a loud claxon sounds to tell us that the Box is coming up with a new Greenie. Ben and I look at each other with a smirk as Minho and the other two fly out of the room, heading towards the Box. I nod at him and he as well takes off. I smile, turn around and begin to walk towards the Box. It’s my turn to make the introductions; Alby had taken the last one. As I reach the Box, the boys part letting me reach it.   
‘Ready?’ I ask the boys. They all nod eagerly. I see Newt and Alby in the background. I feel guilty leaving the way I did. I nod and smile slightly at the pair and then open the lid. Letting our eyes adjust to the darkness in the box we stand staring down at the boy and the supplies. I smile jumping in the box. The boy shuffles away from me in fear. His eyes keep flicking up to the heard of guys surrounding him.   
‘Hi,’ I start. He flinches as I speak. ‘It’s okay. You’re safe. We’re friends.’ He looked up to my reached out hand. Shaking he takes it and stands up. ‘Do you know your name?’ He shakes his head. ‘It’s cool, that’ll come back to you.’ This seems to relieve him a bit. ‘I’m Kira. Welcome to the Glade. Okay, okay.’ I turn and yell to the boys. ‘Let’s move away a tad. Starting to feel a bit tight.’ I smile at the new Greenie and get out of the box. I gesture for him to follow and begin walking towards Newt and Alby.   
‘Alright Greenie?’ Newt calls with a smirk.   
‘This is Alby and Newt.’ I say to the Greenie. ‘Alby will take you on a tour of the Glade and then I’ll meet up you later to show you rest. Ok?’ I look up at the boy. He is much taller than he had looked in the box. He nods and heads off with Alby. Newt stands with his hands in his pockets looking at me.  
‘What?’ I roll my eyes. He shrugs and carries on staring. ‘What?’ I repeat feeling my cheeks begin to hot up. He smiles.  
‘We’ve got a party to plan.’ He says, obviously changing the direction of the conversation. A part of me feels disappointed at the change in topic.  
Later that evening, I sit round the roaring fire watching Gally teaching the younger Gladers how to fight. I know this will soon escalate into the ‘Who wants to fight Gally game’ but I wasn’t going to stop them. Boys seemed to enjoy beating up each other; a test of masculinity I guess. Don’t get me wrong I will defend myself if it comes down to it, but I struggle to see the fun in losing against Gally and getting beat to the floor. Winning on the other hand, that I could see the fun in. Knocking the bigger boys down a peg or two is always surprisingly satisfying. I smile and turn my head to the Greenie, who is sat away from the festivities.   
‘Are you okay, Greenie?’ I ask walking over to him. He looks up at me and shakes his head. I sit down on the floor next to him.  
‘I still can’t remember my name.’ He whispers, his head dropping into his hands. I put my hand on his shoulder.   
‘You know, Frypan didn’t remember his name for 3 days.’ He looked at me alarmed. I smile slightly, ‘But it still came back.’   
‘His names not Frypan is it?’ He questions. I shake my head.  
‘No, that’s just a nickname we gave him. Appropriate don’t you think?’ The boy nods his head with a laugh. ‘His real name is Siggy.’ He furrows his eyebrows.  
‘That still sounds like a nickname.’ I chortle. I had thought the same thing when he first remembered it.  
‘What I meant is that, it may come back to you in 5 minutes or 3 days, but it’ll come back. We’re allowed that.’  
‘Allowed?’ I ignore him and get to my feet.  
‘This party is for you. You really gonna sit over here not enjoying it?’ I offer him my hand. He hesitates for a moment and then takes it. I smile and pull him up. We walk back over to the fire and he immediately gets pulled into having a drink.  
‘What is it?’ He asks.   
‘Dunno,’ I respond ‘It’s Gally’s secret recipe, but it packs a decent punch.’ He smiles and takes a swig. We watch for a moment as his eyes bulge and he spits it out, choking on the taste. A roar of cheers and laughter come from the Gladers. Nick wraps his arm round Greenie’s shoulder and pulls him off to watch the fights. I go to sit on a log close to the fire. I stare into the flames, watching the orange, yellow and red swirls mix and blend together to create such beauty. I take a sip of the drink that had been pushed into my hand as we approached, savouring the burn running down my throat. A body comes and sits next to me. It’s Newt. I can tell without looking.   
‘He seems to be fitting in. We got a name yet?’ He asks motioning to the Greenie. I shake my head.  
‘Not yet.’ I continue gazing into the fire. He nods next to me. I hear him take a small intake of breath, like he is about to say something to me. I look at him, feel his eyes burn into mine.   
‘Umm,’ he begins.  
‘SPEECH!! SPEECH!! SPEECH!!’ the Gladers rally together, looking at me. I sigh.

‘Every time.’ I murmur to myself. I sigh, then get up standing on the log. ‘My fellow Gladers!’ I start, throwing my arms into the air. ‘Tonight we welcome our new Greenie.’ I turn to look at the boy. ‘I know coming up here is scary. A new place, new people, no memories of who you were before, but we want you to know that we welcome you, as a friend and as a brother.’ The Gladers clap and mumbles of agreement surface. ‘So let’s have a drink for those we have lost and those whom we are yet to know.’ I tilt my head to the floor for a moment. I lift it up noticing that many others have done the same. ‘Okay, sad bit over. This is a party! Let’s get some music going!’ I step down from the log as the Gladers begin to start playing their makeshift instruments. The sounds of joy and laughter soon refill the air. I look around for Newt and see him deep in a drinking game with some of the other boys. I walk over to them.   
‘Kira!!’ the boys cry. ‘Come and play.’ I shake my head.  
‘I dunno guys.’ The boys moan and pull me over to the table.   
‘We’ve only just started you can catch up.’ Nick says misunderstanding my hesitance. I sigh.   
‘No, why can’t I have a little fun.’ I think to myself. ‘Why not!’ I say sitting at the table. The boys cheer.  
‘We have only had two each.’ He says handing me the bottle of alcohol. I pour a small amount into the bottom half of an eggshell. The game is to take in it turns to drink out of our eggshell but to try and not break the shell. I throw back the first and prepare another quickly. After the second goes down, I put the bottle back in the middle of the table. The bottle is passed round and round. I can feel myself starting to feel the effects in my head. About 7 drinks in, Clint grips his shell slightly too hard and it brakes spilling his drink all over him. Nick isn’t much later. It’s just Newt and I left. I look at him with a smirk on my face. His eyes are starting to glass over.  
‘Starting to feel it Newty?’ I tease clicking in front of his face.  
‘I’m fine,’ he responds. ‘You?’ I laugh.   
‘Yep, steady as a rock.’ I raise my eyebrow. We drink one after another. Again and again and again. Nick looked between us.   
‘We need to make this more interesting.’ I glare at Nick’s wide smirk. ‘Newt if you lose, you have to spend the night in the Slammer.’ The Slammer, oh that’s tough. It’s cold tonight. ‘Kira if you lose, you have to…’ He paused trying to think.   
‘She has to not run the maze tomorrow!’ A deep voice interrupts the deliberation over my punishment. I look up to see Alby standing behind Nick with a smug smile on his face. I huff and turn back to Newt. We carry on, one by one, drinking and drinking. I can feel my hand starting to shake, my grip tightening. Crack!! Egg shell pieces clatter down onto the table. I look down at mine. It’s still whole. I flick my eyes to Newt seeing him covered in alcohol. The cheering around us deafens, as I look at him. He’s fine. The slight glassiness in his eyes has gone. He didn’t break it because he is drunk. He did it on purpose. Before I can say anything he stands up and with Nick walks over to the slammer. He did it for me.


	7. The Maze

Chapter 7  
  
‘Ergghhh!’ The noise of hungover teens waking from their alcohol induced coma’s echo round the Glade the next morning. I hadn’t slept. The look in Newt’s eyes before he got take to the slammer filled my mind. He did it for me. He spent a night out in the cold, damp slammer so that I can run today. I have to see him before I leave. I have to know what that meant; if at all it meant anything. I pull on my boots and creep out of the homestead towards the slammer. As I reach it, i can see the outline of Newt’s body curled up in one of the cells.   
‘Newt.’ I whisper down at the shape. His eyes flick open and look at me wearily. I look down at my hands feeling guilty that he did this.   
‘Stop it,’ he says to me. I look down to him with a confused expression. ‘Feeling guilty’ he explains. I feel my features mould into a look of surprise. ‘I wanted too. I know how much you want to run the maze.’ My mouth opens to respond but he cuts me off. ‘If you don’t run today, you will never be able to make yourself again. You need to run today.   
‘But is that worth you spending a night in here?’ I gesture at his surroundings.  
‘Yes,’ he simply answers. I sit stunned at his answer. He looks back at me with such sincerity I almost need to look away.   
‘But…’ I start to argue.  
‘Kira!!’ Ben’s voice shouts for me, as the rumble of the doors opening begins.   
‘I have to go,’ I whisper to him. ‘I’ll find you later. We need to talk.’ He nods and closes his eyes. I stand up and run to Ben, just in time for the ‘THUMP’ as the doors lock into place. Alby stands next to him looking at me with a concerned look on his face.   
‘I hope you know what you’re doing!’ He says flatly, but his eyes shine with concern. I hug him and whisper in his ear, ‘Have a little faith’. With one last squeeze and a wink, Ben and I run into the maze.  
  
It’s different to how I remember. The sharp turns and aisles are covered in ivy; the ground has become worn from the constant assault of fast feet working their way in and out of the winding trails. As we run, I start to get into a long forgotten rhythm; right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot. It feels familiar and freeing. Fast and wonderful. A smile builds on my face. I see myself passing Ben, hear him shout my name. I stop and turn to look at him. He has a grin on his face too.   
‘I’ve never seen you like this!’ He laughs. I spin around with my arms flying free. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever see anyone act like this when they are running the maze.’   
‘It’s been so long that I guess it’s sorta a weight of my shoulders. The feeling of guilt that you lot were out here in danger and I was sat all cosy in the homestead.’ I shook my head. ‘But now I’m here. I’ve overcome my fear of this place and that’s amazing.’ I looked at Ben, he was smiling. ‘Ready to go again?’ I asked. He nodded and started running. I quickly caught up and for a while we just ran. We stopped every now and then for food and water, but on the whole we just ran. After about 4 hours Ben called me, ‘I need to stop.’ I agreed and we sat down on the floor. ‘How can you keep going?’ He asked between breaths. I smiled.   
‘I guess my stamina is just better than yours.’ I shrugged.  
‘But you’re not even catching your breath?!’ I shrugged again, then laughed when he flopped from sitting to face first on the floor. **Click**. I froze. Ben was still lolling on the floor until he saw my expression and stopped. I stood up quietly straining my ears to see if I could hear it again. **Click**. I motioned to Ben to silently get up and gather our things. He crept around silently putting our belongings in his bag. **Click**. Once he had finished, I started to back away from the noise. Once I reached Ben, I put my finger to my lips and we continued to inch backwards. **Click.** That was closer this time. I started to increase my speed until I couldn’t anymore without running. **Click.** Only one as far as I can tell. **Click.**   
‘Go!’ I whispered to Ben urgently. ‘Go.’ And with that we turned and sprinted away as fast as we could. Ben began to open his mouth to say something but I shook my head. I pointed behind us at the dark shadow following the sound of our footsteps. I soon began to recognise my surroundings. I hit Ben in the shoulder and ducked into a cavity in the wall completely hidden by ivy. Ben followed me and we stood front-to-front in silence. I held my breath. Not sure why but you convince yourself it helps. **Click.** My heart hammered against my chest. **Click.** A whirring sound now aided the clicks in creating the most terrifying sound. The one we dread to hear. Griever. My eyes lock on Bens. Their open wide in panic. I shake my head slowly. ‘It’ll be fine.’ I try to send this to him through my eyes. I don’t think it worked. I could feel his body shaking against mine. **Click.** I winced. That one was really close. So close I could swear it would be able to hear my heartbeat. **Click.** Right outside. **Click. Click. Click. Click.** Getting further away now. Further and further. I let out my breath. If he had the space to Ben’s knees would have given out.  
‘Time to go back?’ I whispered. Ben nodded his head frantically. I pushed back the vines and stuck my head out of the cavity. ‘Clear.’ Ben followed me out and instantly began heading back to the Glade. I trailed behind, remembering the last time I had been in that space in the wall. Once I saw the opening to the Glade I called Ben back.   
‘Don’t tell Alby what we saw today.’ I asked.   
‘What! We have to tell him. He needs to know.’   
‘No. I’ll tell him in my own time. But if we tell him now, there is no way, leader or not, that im going to be allowed back in that maze.’ I hold onto his hands imploring him to believe me.  
‘You WANT to go back in there?’ He looks at me as if I’m mad. ‘You want to risk seeing those creatures again?’   
‘I need to be a part of this. I need to be running. Please!’ After a minute he nods.  
‘Okay, you’re the boss.’ He sighed.   
‘You tell anyone else either. We can’t risk losing moral.’ At this suggestion he nods more enthusiastically. I smile. ‘I have to say though, I can’t believe that I’m a better than you.’ A smirk plasters itself onto my face.  
‘What! There’s no way. I’m a great runner.’ He argues with a similar grin as we walk towards the entrance.   
‘Better stamina, I’m faster and I probably have a better memory than you too.’ I say appealing to his inner competitiveness. If anything will keep his mind of what just happened, it would be a competition.   
‘Na!!!’ He waves his arms around jumping about, obviously itching to get back and test out my theory.  
‘Ok, race you back!’ I said running off giggling wildly at the astounded squeak and cries of ‘You cheated!’ and ‘Not fair’ coming from behind me. Passing through the gates first, I spun around bowing to imaginary spectators. ‘Thank you, thank you! I’s like to thank myself and of course my competitor Ben, who made it very easy to win!’ I mocked, still bowing. Ben came striding past me still muttering ‘not fair’ and ‘cheater’ under his breath. Running up behind him, I jumped on his back wrapping my legs round his waist.   
‘Be happy, Benji!’   
‘No’ he grumbled. Knowing he was holding my legs, I let go of his neck and began to tickle his sides. Automatically he dropped to the floor laughing, unfortunately taking me with him. I landed to the side of Ben and saw Newt out of the corner of my eye.   
‘Hey, can you report to Alby and then go the Map room and begin writing down our root. You may want to add where we met out ‘little friend’ too. I just need to talk to Newt.’ He nodded and retreated in search of Alby. I walked over to Newt.  
‘Hey,’ I said. He looked up from the fruit he was picking and smiled at me.   
‘Hey, how was the run?’   
‘Great!’ I responded. ‘Thank you for persuading me to go. I needed that.’   
‘Thought you might.’ He added with a smirk. I cocked my eyebrow in answer. ‘I know you, Kira. You kept gazing out there. I knew you were considering it, you just needed a bit of a push. Though why you WANT to go out there is a mystery to me!’ I smiled.  
‘That’s not the first time that’s been said to me today.’ I shrug. He smiles widely, chuckling to himself. I like his smile. WHOA! Where did that come from? I do like his smile; guess I never thought about it before. Why have I never thought about it before? Oh crap, he’s been talking. And I’ve been staring! Damn it!   
‘Kira?’ Newt waved his hand in front of my eyes.  
‘Sorry,’ I chuckle embarrassed, ‘I zoned out for a minute, what did you say?’ He smiled. I do like… NO! LISTENING! I shake my head to refocus my thoughts.  
‘Food.’ He clarifies. I see behind him Frypan motioning for everyone to come to the food tent.  
‘Right!’ I say not looking at him and quickly heading off to the tent. Gosh, I’m so embarrassed. I remember Ben and Minho are still in the Map Room. ‘Hey,’ I call out to the surrounding Gladers, ‘Have you told Minho and Ben? There still in the Map Room.’ A younger boy runs off to tell them. I see the Greenie sitting alone at a bench having obviously having been given his food first. I nudge Newt. ‘He remembered his name yet?’   
Nodding he says, ‘Yeah, I meant to tell you. Jak.’ I smile.  
‘Nice name.’ I wander over to him. ‘Hey Jak.’ His eyes widen and a smile blooms on his face.  
‘Hi. How was your run?’ He asks almost bouncing on his seat. I smile at his enthusiasm.  
‘It was good. Have you been testing work areas today?’   
‘Yeah, I like farming!’ I smile. ‘Newt is so nice. He was helping me pick tomatoes. He said they are your pride and joy so I had be really careful when picking them. I didn’t like getting the fertiliser though. It smelt really bad!’ He keeps telling me about his day until we are joined by some other Gladers with their food and I realise how hungry I am. Luckily Jak is thrilled to see people sitting with him and proceeds to tell them about how he remembered his name and the joys of farming. I got up from the bench and my seat is instantly taken by another Glader pitching in to the conversation by recalling how remembered his name. I’m pleased to see that he is fitting in so well. I walk up to Frypan. ‘Hey, you some left for me?’ I ask peering into his pot.  
‘For you? Always!’ He pulls a wooden platter from under the bench and piles mountains of food on it. ‘Thought you might be hungry after your run. See anything interesting?’ I think back to the Griever encounter.   
‘Nope,’ I say innocently. He nods and begins dealing out food to the next person. I sit down at an empty table to the far right of the eating tent. I hate lying to everybody; but telling people about the Griever will cause panic. You don’t see them in the day. It just doesn’t happen. A familiar sense of foreboding that I haven’t felt in a long time settles on my shoulders. ‘Everything is going to change now,’ I whisper to myself. Looking up I see Ben staring at me with a similar expression on his face. I nod subtly at him and begin to eat my food.


	8. Nick

Chapter 8

A couple of weeks passed without any more daytime Griever sightings. I’d like to say that it became a distant memory. No such luck. The guilt of not telling Alby or Newt about the incident was beginning to become unbearable. Ben was feeling it too. We argued about it most days. Today was one of those days.   
  


‘I’m telling them! When we get back tonight. I’m telling them.’ Ben was pacing back and forth in front of me.  
‘It’s been two weeks and no-one has seen a Griever in the day again.’ I try to reason with Ben. ‘Why should we worry them!’   
‘THEY NEED TO KNOW! Something is changing. You and I both know that. We can feel it.’ I look up at him. He has stopped pacing and has an odd look in his eye.  
‘Ben.’ I say. I can tell he is having an internal argument. ‘Whatever you want say, you can say it.’ He surveys my face sighing obviously coming to a decision.   
‘It’s Nick!’ Nick? I wasn’t expecting that? ‘He can feel it. He’s getting restless. He keeps talking about doing something to get out of here.’ I look at him confused.

‘What do mean, something?’

‘He won’t tell us what his plan is but I’m sure it’s something stupid and dangerous.’ Ben’s face falls.

‘I’m worried.’ I nod. I am too. I need to talk to Nick and find out what he is planning.

‘Yeah okay, let’s go back now and I’ll talk to Nick. Try and find out what’s going on.’ Ben nods and wordlessly starts to jog back to the Glade. As much as I hate to admit it, I may have been wrong to keep the Griever a secret. I should tell Alby and Newt. The other runners should probably know too.

‘Ben!’ I call after him. He stops and turns to me. ‘I’ll tell them. Alby and Newt. I’ll tell them.’ A smile starts to form on his face.

‘Thank you. I don’t like lying.’

‘I know,’ I sigh. ‘I’m sorry I asked you too.’ He walks back to me and takes my arm in his. We walk together back to the Glade bracing ourselves towards what we are about to do.

As we enter the Glade, I see Nick over by the homestead. I turn to Ben, ‘In 20 minutes, gather Alby, Newt and the other runners in the Map Room. I’ll them all at once.’ He nods and jogs away to find everyone as I walk over to Nick.

‘Hey,’ I call to him as I approach.

‘Hey,’ he smiles back. There is something forced about it.

‘Can we talk?’ I ask gesturing over to the Treehouse. The Treehouse is Gally’s latest architectural gamble. He has made panels all the way up the tree so that it makes it easier to climb. It’s pretty cool actually. Once at the top, I sit down dangling my legs over the side of the panel we are on.

‘So what’s up?’ He asks sitting beside me.

‘Maybe I should ask the same question.’ I say flatly. His eyebrows bury in confusion but I continue to stare at him. His expression suddenly changes to one of acceptance. ‘Ben told you didn’t he. About ‘the plan’.’

I nod, ‘Except he didn’t know what the plan was. Only that it is probably stupid and dangerous.’

Nick’s is looking at his hands. He won’t make eye contact. ‘Maybe we need a bit of stupid and dangerous.’

‘What are you planning?’ I need him to tell me. I can’t lose someone else.

‘I doesn’t matter.’ He stunts my questioning. Getting up he looks down at me. ‘You’ll only try and stop me.’ And with that he climbs back down. I sigh. What am I going to do! I can’t watch him all the time to make sure he doesn’t kill himself attempting to get out of here. I drop my head into my hands. ‘I can’t do this’ I whisper to myself. ‘I’m going to get them all killed.’ Newt’s face consumes my vision. I can’t lose him. I suddenly remember I’m supposed to meet Ben and tell them all about the Griever. I groan as I get up and climb down through the branches. This really needs ladders. I’ll talk to Gally about it later. Walking towards the Map Room feels lie the longest journey of my life. When I get there, everybody is already settled inside looking very confused. When they see me they go to stand. ‘Don’t’ I say holding up my hand. ‘You need to be sat down for this.’ I catch Alby’s eyes and I can tell he already knows that I have fucked up. I stare at the ground not being able to meet anyone else’s eye. Especially Newt. I can feel the runner’s eyes on me. I take a breath and look up.

‘You may be wondering why I got Ben to gather you. Umm.’ I hesitate. ‘A couple of weeks ago, on my first day running again, Ben and I encountered a Griever.’ I rush through the sentence not even taking time to take a breath. Small gasps and whispers fill the room. ‘As you all know this is the first time we have encountered a Griever in daylight. We haven’t seen another one and I’m assuming none of you have either. Correct?’ I direct this question to the other runners. They all shake their head. I nod. ‘We decided… I decided not to tell anyone about this as not to worry you. However maybe that wasn’t the right decision.’ Alby scoffs at this statement and I glare at him, not worried about his reaction anymore. ‘I did what I thought was right at the time and now have changed my mind and told you.’

I turn towards Ben and he continues, ‘This is where we first saw him and he tracked us to here.’ As he talked he pointed to the whereabouts in question on the model the runners had built from memory. I caught Newt’s eye. He knew what had happened there.

‘We thought you should know. Just keep an eye out when you’re in there. Be cautious.’ Silence falls when I have finished speaking so I quickly leave, before questions can be asked.

Shutting myself in my room I sink to the floor and let the tears fall. I can’t cry out there. After today though, god do I need to cry. I push myself up and walk over to the wall by my bed. Pushing the bed out of the way I sit down and look at the 1,459 lines spread over it. Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow we get another Glader. Tomorrow… ‘tomorrow I have been here 4 years. 4 years and I’m still here. Not sure if that means I’ve done something right or something wrong.’ I laugh bitterly. A familiar body settles next to me. ‘Alby’s pissed isn’t he?’

Newt nods. ‘Yeah. He thinks you should have told us sooner.’

‘What about you? Do you think I should have told you sooner?’ I stare straight at the wall not being able to bring myself to look at him. He sighs and shrugs his shoulders.

‘It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. We know now.’ He states, his voice making me shiver. I pull my eyes away from the marks and look at him. He is looking right back at me. I can see the concern.

‘I’m fine. It was good to revisit the area. It would have been better under different circumstances sure, but I’m fine. I feel the same now as I did back then. We have to make our life better for ourselves because no-one else will. And we have.’ I get up to look out the window. ‘Look out there. We did this. All of us. We made the life we have, and it’s great.’ I smile at him. His eyes are shining with pride as he looks over the Glade. It’s almost beautiful in a way. It’s a shame he doesn’t smile more.

‘What?’ Newt asks quietly.

‘Hu.’

‘Never mind.’ He shakes his head and continues looking out. There’s something missing. Something that would make this moment perfect. Alby. I need to apologise to him. He is the only reason all of this exists. I have to talk to him.   
I turn to go and find Alby when Newt says something that stops me in my tracks.

‘Are we ever going to get out of here?’ I stop, turning to see Newt looking at the floor. ‘Why would someone put us in here and not give us any indication of how to get out? You’ve been here four years and we still don’t know. People have died. Surely that defeats the point. It seems like a stupid plan to put children in a maze, not tell them how to get out and watch them die trying. What’s the end-game? What’s the reason?’ He sits down on my bed still looking at the floor.

‘I don’t know why we are here. I don’t know if we will make it out. But were sure as hell not going to stop trying. None of us know what is out there. I like to think we have families waiting for us.’ I smile at him. ‘We are going to get out. And soon. I can feel it.’ And with that I turn and leave the homestead to look for Alby.

I find Alby sulking by the far edge of the Glade. 'Hey,' I say getting his attention. He opens his mouth to say something but I stop him by holding up my hand. 'I know I should have told you about the Griever, and I know it was probably too early for me to start running again. But I had to start sometime and now I'm back to ultimate fitness. I mean, I'm faster than Ben!' I find myself almost pleading with him to understand. I stop talking and walk over to sit beside him. I wait for him to talk.

'I'm still pissed.' He mutters.

'I know, but I really am sorry.' I lean my head on his shoulder. 'Please just have a little faith that I know what I'm doing.' He laughs.

'Faith is not something I have in short supply. I trust and believe in every decision you make. I may not show it but I do. I think we have been a team for such a long time now that it's hard when things change. You running; a griever in daylight. We can all feel it. Somethings going on. We just don't understand what yet. And I'm struggling with that.' His head falls.

'Yeah me too. I'm so terrified by what's coming I forget to appreciate the now. We both do. Let's not waste these weeks by arguing. Please. It's not the same without you.' I look up at him as he puts an arm round my shoulders, pulling me in for a hug.

'All families argue.' He states simply.

I smile at him. 'How do you know?'

'I dunno. Guess I just feel it.' He pecks my forehead and stands up. 'Need help?' I smile at the gesture and take his offer of helping me up.

The next day, I wake up to a strange feeling in the Glade. I'm not sure what it is but the tension is palpable. After getting dressed I walk out of the homestead to see what is causing the weird atmosphere. There is no-one about. Odd! What's going on? The sun is up, the doors are open but nobody is around? I walk around and check all the buildings without any luck. I then notice a couple of the boys heading off into the trees. I follow silently. Creeping through the forest I begin to hear a plethora of voices. One in particular. Oh Nick, what are you up to?

Peering round a tree I see a large clearing filled with boys. However noticeably Newt, Alby, Jak, Frypan, Ben and Gally are all missing. My eyes finally rest on Nick who is in the centre of the circle with a number of ropes. It looks like he is talking about knots? What the hell? Winston walks up to Nick and stands as a model as Nick wraps the rope around his waist. Winston then climbs to the top of the nearest tree and with the help of Nick and some kind of pulley system to works his way down the smooth bark. What is this some sort of activity? A game that Nick has invented. If so, why would he not tell me about it? And why would they all meet in the woods? Something strange is going on and I had to tell Newt and Alby about it now! I ran back towards the homestead to wake up Newt when the claxon sounded to welcome the new Greenie. I watched as all the boys came running out of the forest towards the box. Most had a look of excitement on their face but I could sense some nerves. What was happening?

'You ready?' Newt asks as he comes up behind me. I stay quiet and frown at the scene before me. 'What's wrong?' I feel a hand on my shoulder.

'Somethings going on. I don't know what, but somethings wrong.' I feel Newt's hand tighten on my shoulder. Before anything else can be said, Alby strides past me and towards the box calling for me to follow.

'We'll talk about it later, okay?' Newt says quietly. I nod following Alby. It's his turn to jump in and make the original welcome, so I stand with Newt at the edge of the box. Inside is a small, chubby kid. He looks young. Really young. 14 maybe? I can hear Alby chatting with him quietly as my brain wanders back to what I saw in the woods. My attention is suddenly brought back when I hear my name being said.

'Kira is the boss. You do as she says and you will get along fine.' Alby teases pointing up at me. I raise an eyebrow and smirk at him.

'He's kidding. We'll get along fine.' I offer a hand into the box to help him out. He takes it and with a bit of awkward scrabbling he emerges over the side. The boys all jump into the box to empty it of supplies so it can go back down again. 'They're in a hurry?' I say to Newt who also is looking at the Gladers with a raised eyebrow. I shrug and put my tour hat on as I walk off with the Greenie and Alby to give him the tour.

About 30 minutes later, I hear Newt shout. I run towards the noise the Greenie in tow. As I get closer I see the boys surrounding the box? The box went 10 minutes ago? What are they looking at? I run faster. I push my way through the crowd shouting to Newt. 'WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHAT'S GOING ON?' I only hear one word through all the mayhem. Nick!  
'Shit,' I curse as I reach the box. Before me lies the deep hole from which the box comes from. I can see a rope over the edge and several boys holding one end. It all starts to click into place. 'NO!' I scream. I grab the rope trying to pull Nick back up. Gally, Winston and Jeff run to my aid. 'DON'T YOU THINK I HAVE TRIED THAT YOU IDIOT? STOP! YOU'LL GET…!' The tension on the rope breaks and I fall back to the floor. A blood curdling scream echo's round the glade.  
The boys begin to pull on the rope as I stand up and lean over the edge. What I see makes me want to throw up. I tell the boys to stop pulling. 'Newt.' I beckon him over. 'Get the younger boys into the homestead. They don't need to see this.' Immediately he does as I ask and although reluctantly the boys follow. Only the older boys are left now. 'Okay boys, bring him up.' They begin to pull on the rope again faster this time. It only takes a few seconds for Nick's torso to be hauled over the edge of the box hole. Without the legs. The boys drop the rope with different reactions. Winston is sick, Jeff faints and Gally just stares, all the blood having left his face.

'Fuck!'


	9. The Aftermath

Chapter 9

We sit in the council building in silence. Trying to process what happened. In the middle of the room is Nick’s torso, covered in a sheet. The blood pools on the floor beneath him, yet none of us can bring ourselves to move him. Winston and Jeff sit in the corner, faces so pale they look like they are going to pass out.

‘Jeff, Winston, go check on the others.’ The pair looked at each other and with similar grateful expressions they leave. ‘Gally, go get some more sheets. We can’t carry him if he is dripping everywhere.’ He nods and leaves also.

I look at Alby, Newt and Frypan. Alby is looking at the floor, guilt seeping from every pore. Frypan’s wiping tears from his face and looking anywhere but Nick. Newt on the other hand is staring at the torso, not being to drag his eyes away. I go to stand in front of Newt blocking the sight. He looks up at me, with a slightly hardened look. I recognise that look, it’s on my face too. Calm exterior whilst on the inside you’re screaming. I kneel down in front of him and take his hands.

Whispering to him, so that Alby and Frypan can’t hear me, I say, ‘We have to be strong. The others can’t right now, so we have too. We can grieve later. Right now we have to move him away from here. We can’t let them see him. Not even the baggers.’

At this Gally walks back into the room with sheets. ‘Alby, Frypan keep the boys inside. All of them.’ Alby leaves instantly. Frypan puts a hand on my shoulder and follows. I take a deep breath and take the sheets off Gally. ‘You don’t have to stay,’ I say to Gally, ‘Either of you,’ I look to Newt.

‘Were staying,’ Newt says sharply getting up and gently taking some of the sheets from my hands. Gally nods and walks round to the opposite side of Nick. ‘Okay,’ I say putting one sheet onto the floor away from the pool of blood. ‘We need to put him on this.’

I can see Gally and Newt looking at each other trying to decide where to best pick him up from. They eventually agree that no one wants to hold the ‘leg’ end and so pick him up by his sides. I move slightly so they can put him down gently. I walk up to the body and take off the top sheet, just enough to see his face. I stroke back his blood soaked hair and close his eyes. Replacing the sheet, I nod to Gally and Newt and we begin wrapping the sheets around him. I find myself humming the tune that I hummed to the others. It seems to have an almost calming effect on both Gally and Newt as I caught a small flicker of softness coming back to Newt’s eyes. Once we had finished the boys picked him up and began to carry him towards the deadheads. I was in front making sure Alby and Frypan had done as I asked. They had. The Glade was completely empty.

We walked silently to the deadheads and buried Nick. I felt I had to warn off anyone from doing the same. On his tombstone I carved _‘Let this half-shank be a warning to all. You can’t escape through the Box Hole.’_ Underneath this I wrote ‘Here lies Nick.’ … I felt like I should write more but I couldn’t think of anything else to put, so I didn’t. I stuck the wood into the ground and stood back. I hadn’t realised that Gally had left until I turned around and saw Newt looking at me. I sent a questioning glance his way.

‘He’s gone to get the others. To say their goodbyes.’ He looked at the ground as I nodded. I heard him take a deep breath and say, ‘I’m sorry I froze.’

I stared at him. ‘What?’

‘Before. In the council room. I froze. Sorry.’ He clarified.

I chuckle quietly to myself. ‘I think it’s allowed, after seeing something like that.’ I smile at him reassuringly. ‘And you came back quite quickly. Couldn’t have done this without you.’ I said gesturing to the grave.

‘Yeah well, it won’t happen again.’ He said looking up at me. His hardened eyes stare at me. I don’t like it. That’s not him. I walk up to him and wrap my arms round his middle. I can feel him stiffen slightly like he wasn’t expecting it and then gently his arms curl round my back and tighten.

We stand there in each other’s embrace until Gally comes back with the boys. I detangle myself from Newt and go to stand by the grave. The boys surround it with varying looks of sadness and guilt on their faces. 

‘What happened wasn’t anyone’s fault. I know you all want out of here, and we are working our hardest to find something, anything, to tell us how. But doing things like this is reckless. And not telling Alby, Newt and myself was even more stupid.’ I can see a few boys look down at this. ‘But I don’t blame you.’ Confusion swept through them. ‘I can understand why you wouldn’t tell us. I guess you knew we would tell you not to, and that wasn’t an option for those of you who truly believed that this was the way out. It’s a logical assumption that the box has to come from somewhere and its way would be our way out. That’s why we tried it, Alby and I. We tied some wood to a rope and lowered it down. It come back up as a sliced bit of rope. We could have told you it didn’t work. I’m not blaming you, I just want you to know that you can talk to us. My speech when we welcome Greenies, talk about welcoming you as brothers. And that’s what you are. Your family. Every single of you. Please talk to us if you have ideas and if we haven’t tried it then we’ll as a glade. As a family. Nick just lost faith in us. Please don’t follow in his footsteps. Say your goodbyes and we will meet at the wall in 30 minutes.’ And with that I walk away leaving the huddle of boys murmuring among themselves.

Half an hour later we chip a line through Nicks name on the wall. I turn to face the crowd once again. ‘Because of recent events we will suspend the greeting party until tomorrow. Tonight we grieve.’  
I walk over the fire pit and sit down basking in the heat. Soon I am surrounded by the rest of the boys. Gally is handing round a drink to each boy. He walks to me and sits down. Handing me a drink he says with a loud voice, ‘Nick.’

‘Nick’ the boys echo taking a sip of their drink. Coughing and spluttering interrupts the silence as the Greenie spits the drink everywhere. Laughter erupts around the fire. I chuckle at the sight of the 14 year old boy being patted on the back as he tries to recover from the burn. ‘You get used to it’ I hear Alby say to him. The Greenie smiles slightly sits back. Refusing to let us sink back into silence I say, ‘Who remembers the time that we all pranked Nick and he practically clunked himself when he woke up in the Slammer?’ The boys again erupt into roars of laughter at the memory of Nick waking up in the Slammer after a party and us refusing to tell him what he had done to be there.

Winston adds, ‘His face when we told him he hadn’t actually done anything after he followed Kira round all day in apology was priceless.’ Other boys started talking about their own funny memories of Nick and the mood was thoroughly heightened. I walked over to the Greenie where he was sitting with Alby.

‘Hey, do you mind if I steal the Greenie for a bit. We’ve not had a chance to talk really.’ Alby nods and the Greenie gets up and follows me to the sleeping areas. I pick a sheet from the side and begin making him a hammock.

‘Hell of a first day, huh?’ I say to him as he watches me make his bed.

‘Yeah,’ He replies quietly.

‘I promise every day is not like this. It’s pretty calm normally.’ He looks at me, a shine of fear in his eyes. ‘Hey, what’s up?’

‘I can’t remember anything.’ I sigh. 

‘None of us can. You’ll get your name back soon. They let us keep that.’

‘What about my parents?’ I look at him slightly shocked. I hadn’t thought about my parents for a very long time. ‘Will I remember them?’

‘No, sorry.’ He looks down, tears dripping into his lap. I walk over to sit by him and put my arm around his shoulders.

‘You never know, you could be the first.’ He looks at me, his face slightly puffy from crying. ‘You should do something for them.’ He looks at me confused.

‘Like what?’ I get my knife out and a bit of wood from the wood pile and give them to him. ‘Carve them something. An animal maybe.’

‘An owl.’ He says quietly. ‘I’ll carve them an owl.’ I smile at the concentration on his face when he turns the piece of wood in his hands. ‘I don’t know where to start.’

I smile and get my own piece of wood and begin showing him how to carve things out of wood. He’s a quick learner and soon is working on his own bit with a renewed sense of excitement. I smile at him and get up. ‘I’m going to get some sleep, you should too. Big day tomorrow.’ He smiles back at me nodding and continues to work. I chuckle heading into the forest. I’m not going to sleep. How can I sleep right now? Thousands of thoughts begin rushing through my head. I need a task, something to do. The blood. On the floor of the council hall. It needs cleaning. Grabbing a bucket in run back into the forest and to the water. I fill it and take it to the council hall. As I open the door the pool of blood is the first thing I see. I knell down beside and start to wipe it up. It’s started to dry at the edges so I begin to scrub at the floor, harder and harder until the door opens.

‘Oh Kira’ Newt says as he rushes to my side. I begin to feel the tears falling down my face as a cling to Newt. ‘There’s nothing you could have done.’

Sighing I sit back. ‘I know.’ Newt looks surprised. ‘Shut up.’ His face settles in a small smile. ‘It’s just, I have a feeling that we are so close. So close to getting out I can almost taste it. Nick was here almost as long as I was. He deserved to get out. It’s a shame.’ I look back at Newt. He’s smiling at me. ‘What?’

‘You’re so much stronger than the rest of us.’ I look at him completely bewildered.

‘What? No I’m not. There are much stronger people than me. Gally for instance. Barely anything fazes him.’

‘And yet when it does, who does he go to help him. You. Everybody goes to you when they need some support and you give it them. That takes someone incredibly strong in my book.’ I chuckle and flex my muscles at Newt. He laughs and pushes my arms down. ‘That too. Your ability to keep joking about and keeping the mood up at the darkest of times is admirable.’ I feel heat I my cheeks. I can’t look at him. Why is he complementing me so much? I don’t mind it. In fact I like it, a lot! But why?

‘Thank you. You know you’re not so bad yourself. The boys adore you. Especially Jak. He couldn’t stop talking about how great you were when he first got here.’ Newt blushed slightly at my words.

‘Okay let’s just agree were both fabulous and move on, yeah?’ He said with a cheeky smile on his face.

‘Totally.’ He got up and helped me off the floor.

‘Want me to help you with that?’ He said nodding at the stain.

‘Yeah, please.’ We get some clean water and begin scrubbing at the stain again, in hopes that it will disappear.

It must have been a couple of hours since he fell asleep. I’m such a creep. Sat here watching him sleep. God if he knew I was watching him; mortifying. Newt confuses me. 1 minute he is normal Newt, my second in command, my best friend. Then he is … Newt! Newt that complements me for no reason. Newt that every time I see, my heart hammers against my ribcage so hard I can’t breathe. What is going on with me? When did this happen? This change. The door squeaks slightly as it opens. It’s Alby. I put my fingers to my lips and point to Newt. He nods in understanding and walks quietly to my side and sits down.

‘You got the blood out?’ He asks. It took ages but we finally had managed to get the stain to something we could hide with a sheet if needs be.

‘Yeah, eventually.’ I nod still looking at Newt.

‘Why didn’t you go to sleep?’ He asks. I shrug. I don’t know the answer myself. One minute Newt fell asleep and the next Alby was coming in the door.

‘I got a few hours,’ I lie. Why did I lie! What does that accomplish! Idiot!

‘He okay?’ he asks nodding to Newt’s sleeping form.

I nod. ‘I think so. He is now at least. There was a moment before when he froze but he pulled out pretty quickly.’  
He looks so peaceful. I should ask Alby what he thinks about Newt.   
No I shouldn’t what they hell did I think that for?  
Maybe you should?  
But he’ll know I like him?!  
Do you like him?  
I dunno. Do I?

‘Kira.’ I snap back to attention. ‘What’s going on with you?’ He looks at me with wide eyes.

‘What?’

‘You keep zoning out.’ He states.

‘Guess I’ve got a lot on my mind. Nick, the Grievers, this weird feeling I’ve got that this is coming to an end…’

‘Newt.’ Alby interrupts.

‘Hu?’ Shit, how did he know?!

‘I see the way he looks at you.’ He says quietly. The way he looks at me. What way does he looks at me? ‘Don’t tell me you can’t see it.’ I look at him blankly. ‘You don’t? Oh boy! It’s times like these when we need another girl around.’ He takes a deep breath. ‘Okay. Newt likes you. Like, romantically.’ Alby stares at my blank face with utter confusion. ‘How can you not tell?!’ He whisper shouts still trying not to wake Newt.

‘Why would you tell me this?’ I ask Ably extremely confused as to why we were having this conversation.

‘Because you’re my sister and I love you and I want to see you happy. And because I am getting sick of seeing him stare after you like a long lost puppy!’ Alby whispers throwing his arms up in the air for dramatic effect. I laugh and rest my head on his shoulder.

‘I love you too, Big Bro!’ His chest rumbles as he laughs.

‘You better not start calling me that!’ I smile at him as he gets up, helping me up as well. I stretch out my back and muscles. Sitting on the floor all night does nothing for you back!

‘I better go find the Greenie, See if he has had any luck with his name.’ Alby announces striding out of the hall. I walk over to Newt and shake his shoulder. He opens his eyes and looks around the hall and if wondering what he was doing here. Eyes falling on me, he seems to remember and spins round putting his feet on the ground. I smile at his unkempt hair and reached over to brush it off his face. He blushes and tries to flatten it down himself.

‘Morning sleepyhead.’ I say laughing at him.

‘Hi,’ He answers, his voice slightly raspy from sleep.

I get up and move over to the bucket of cold bloody water and cloths and begin tidying up. ‘How’d you sleep?’

‘Yeah, fine.’ He said getting up and helping me carry the buckets out of the hall.

As we walk out of the forest, I watch the Gladers going about their daily routines as if nothing happened. I guess you learn to adapt in a place like this. I smile seeing the Greenie and Jak animatedly talking about work. Leaving Newt’s side I walk up to them. Catching their eyes I smile at the pair.

‘Hey Kira,’ Jak calls and waves. The Greenie does the same.

‘Hey you guys. Excited about trying the work placement Greenie,’ I ask.

‘No Kira, he remembered his name this morning. Tell her!’ Jak said excitedly.

‘Chuck. My names Chuck.’ He beamed at me.

‘Congrats. Nice to meet you Chuck.’ I clapped him on the shoulder. I saw Minho standing by the wall. ‘Good Luck today Chuck. Look after him Jak.’ I said pointing at the kid.

‘Ok,’ He shouts as I walk towards Minho. I see that he has my vest in his hand.

‘Ready,’ he says, handing me my vest.

‘Yep,’ I reply as we run into the maze.


	10. Thomas

Chapter 10

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

What is that noise? I open my eyes slowly. It’s not a conscious decision, but my eyelids are so heavy, slowly is the only pace I can go. White light blinds me. I jam my eyes shut, before opening them again, adjusting to the light.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

People in masks loom over me. What is happening! Where is Newt, and Alby! Who are these people? What is that irritating beeping sound?

‘Sleep now Kira. You’ll want to reserve your strength.’ One of the masked people says to me. What is going on? ‘Are we ready? Phase One. Group A. Test Subject One. Kira.’ A sharp pain shoots through my body as the world around me becomes foggy. I can hear them celebrating! Clapping and cheering and whooping. Just before I lose consciousness again someone whispers in my ear, ‘Remember Kira, WICKED is good.’

The load blaring of the claxon woke me that morning. Shit. I jump out of bed, and run to the window. The boys are crowding round the box as usual. I catch sight of Gally.

‘Gally!’ I shout trying to get his attention. His face snaps up to look at me. ‘You’re doing the intro!’ Before he can say anything else, I walk back into my room, throwing clothes on haphazardly. Why is it, that today, of all days, I wake up late. I think back to that dream I had. WICKED?? What is WICKED? I push the thought away as I don’t have the time. Downstairs Alby and Newt are waiting for me.

‘You okay?’ Alby says looking at me with a raised eyebrow. ‘You never sleep in.’ 

‘Fine,’ I answer quickly walking out of the homestead.

The boy’s shouts make me quicken my step as we walk towards the box. As soon as I get sight of the box though, I stop to watch as the Greenie pushes his way out of the gaggle of guys around the box and starts to run towards us. Well towards the gap in the wall, but we’re in front of that.

‘WE’VE GOT A RUNNER!!’ Frypan shouts as the boy runs as fast as he can… before tripping and falling on his face.

‘Hmph,’ Newt chuckles behind me. ‘Could have been a runner, til he tripped.’

I smile and look back at him. ‘All runners trip.’  
Leaving it at that I walk towards the Greenie and smile broadly as he gets up and really looks at the Glade. It’s the first time I get a proper look at him. He is tall, with short brown hair and slightly tanned skin. The look of curiosity on his face is one I recognise instantly.

‘Not letting you do the intro’s again, if they’re gonna run as soon as they see you’re an ugly mug!’ I shout to Gally. The Glader’s surrounding him all jeer and pat his back as they begin to unload the box. Newt goes to help them leaving Alby and I alone with the Greenie. I turn my attention to him, who is still staring as his surroundings.

‘Hey, you’re not gonna run again okay.’ I say drawing to attention to me. I smile slightly as his eyes widen and he nods. I’m not surprised as he’s only seen guys so far. ‘I’m Kira. Do you remember your name?’ His eyes widen even more as he shakes his head.  
  
‘Do you remember anything?’ Alby asks from behind me. He shakes his head frantically. I can see the panic starting to set in.

‘Uh, I, I can’t remember anything. Why can’t I remember anything?’

‘Hey, it’s okay. Don’t panic. It’s normal. It happens to all of us.’ I say putting my hands up to calm him slightly. I’m not sure it worked. ‘Your name will come back in a day or two. They let us have that.’ I smile reassuringly at him.

‘What is this place?’ He asks quietly, however I could feel him wanting to ask a million other questions.

‘We’ll show you.’ I say gesturing to myself and Alby. ‘This is Alby.’ Alby steps forward and shakes his hand. I can tell he is getting ready to put on his tour voice.

‘We eat here. We sleep here. We grow our own food. We build our own shelter. Whatever we need, the Box provides. The rest is up to us.’ I roll my eyes. I have heard him make this speech hundreds of times and with few variations, I feel as if I can recite it.

‘The Box?’ The Greenie slips in a question as Ably pauses to breathe. I knew it, he is curious.

‘What you came up in.’ I add in. ‘It’s sent up once a month with fresh supplies and a new Greenie. This month that’s you. Congrats!’ I smile and wink at him. He smiles slightly at my antics as Alby sighs.

Looking back to Alby he asks, ‘Sent up? By who though? Who put us here?’

Alby sighs again and says ‘That, we don’t know.’ I can practically hear the Greenie thinking. Before he can ask any more questions, Newt walks up.

‘Hey, you alright guys? A-ha!’ I narrow my eyes playfully at him. Nosy little shit.

‘Green-Bean, meet Newt. When we’re not around, Newt is in charge.’ Alby said nodding his head to Newt.

‘Well, it’s a good thing one of you is here all the time then.’ He replies jokingly. Turning to the Greenie he says, ‘That was some dash you made earlier. For a second. I thought you would have the chops to be a runner… til ya face-planted! That was great!’ He chuckles to himself when he catches my and sees me mock glaring.

‘Will you do me a favour?’ I say to Newt. ‘Find Chuck.’ Newt nods and head off. ‘Thank you’, I call after him. He just puts his hand up in response. Alby puts an arm around the Greenies shoulder and pulls him off towards the treehouse/sculpture thing Gally made.

‘Look, I'm sorry to rush this. You came up a little late, and there's a lot to do. We got something special planned tonight. Yeah. You'll see. I hope you're not afraid of heights. Let's go. Come on.’ Alby says. Late up? Wow, I really slept in then. Fuck. Catching up with the pair at the top of the tree, I hear Alby telling the Greenie the rules.

‘First, do your part. No time for any freeloaders. Second, never harm another Glader. None of this works unless we have trust. Most importantly... never go beyond those walls. Do you understand me, Greenie?’ He giggle to myself he sound so serious when he says them. I didn’t sound that serious did I? No, I was too excited for new people when I told Alby the rules. 

‘Hey Alby!’ I hear Chuck’s voice from the base of the tree. I pop my head over. ‘Hey Kira,’ He beams at me. ‘I didn’t realise you were up there too?’

‘Yeah, just needed a reminder of the rules from Commander Alby!’ I snuck a glance at Alby to see him rolling his eyes. I laughed and called back down to Chuck, ‘He’ll be down soon Chuck. I’ll bring him to you.’ He nodded and walked away, arms full of equipment. I smile as I watch him leave. Turning back the others, I smile at Alby. ‘Didn’t you say you were busy?’ As if reminded how busy he actually was, Alby got up and headed towards the ladder. Calling behind him he said, ‘Kira’s in charge. Don’t piss her off and you’ll be fine.’ He looks and me and his serious face cracks into a sly smile. I roll my eyes as he climbs down the tree and heads of to the homestead.

I sit down next to the Greenie who looks a mixture between amused and curious. ‘He’s kidding. About the pissing me off bit. It takes a lot.’

‘So you really are in charge?’ He looks surprised. I nod.

‘Yep, so I’ve been told.’ I look at him waiting for the barrage of questions I know are waiting just under the surface.

‘What’s out there?’ He asks suddenly.

‘A maze. Next question.’ I answer.

‘A maze?’ He whispers to himself. ‘Why can’t we go out there?’

‘Creatures. Next.’

‘What kinda’ creatures?’

‘Bad ones.’

Sensing that was a sore subject he veered away from that line of questioning. ‘What are Runner’s?’

‘Gladers that are the fastest of all of us. They go out and run the maze, trying to plot a way out.’

‘And you haven’t found one?’ I raise my eyebrow at this question. ‘Right, stupid question.’ I smile as he tries to get his thoughts in order. ‘How long have you been here?’

‘Well, as Alby said, one Greenie comes up a month so varying times, but the longest, just over four years.’

‘Wow, and you haven’t found anything?’

‘Nope.’ We fall into a comfortable silence. ‘It’s not bad here. All you’ve heard is how were trying to get out, but life here in the meantime, it’s good.’ I smile. ‘We have a sorta tradition that the Greenie from the month before will show you the… inner workings almost of this place. That’s Chuck.’ I pointed at the small round boy attempting to make up the Greenies hammock. I hear him chuckle beside me. ‘He’s a sweet kid. You’ll like him.’ I get up without another word and head down the tree. I wait at the bottom as he joins me and we walk over to where Chuck is. As he catches sight of us he beams and reaches into his pocket.

‘Look Kira,’ he says holding his hand out. In it is a wooden owl. I pick it up at study it closely.

‘It’s brilliant Chuck. Well Done!’ I grin at him and see him smiling at the ground. ‘What’s up?’ I kneel in front of him. 

‘Do you think they will like it?’ He looks up at me.

‘Are you kidding?’ I look at him in disbelief. ‘Chuck, this is amazing! Better than any of us could do. They’ll absolutely treasure it!’ I put my hands on his shoulders and pull him in for a hug. His arms wrap around my shoulders as he sighs.

Stepping back he looks up at the Greenie. ‘I’m Chuck’, He holds out his hand so the Greenie can shake it. I smile at the pair as they begin to talk but I see the Greenie’s eyes being pulled to the wall. More specifically the gap. I want to see how this pans out so I quietly leave the pair and sit on one of the boy’s hammock’s so I can watch him.

As Chuck is talking, he turns his back on the Greenie and he gets up and heads towards the gap. I quickly follow as does Chuck. I can see Chuck talking to him as Ben and Minho run in from the maze. It was Minho’s first run in a while so I head towards them too see how it went.

‘Hey, Chuck. New Greenie, huh? How does it feel to be promoted?’ Ben said to Chuck as he passed.

‘Feels great, Ben.’ Chuck replies as he was pulled back into a conversation with the Greenie.

Pulling my eyes from the pair, I look at Minho and Ben. ‘Hey guys, how’d it go?’

‘Great!’ Minho smiled at me. You could tell he missed it out there.

‘He was almost as happy as you to be out there. Freaks. The pair of you.’ Ben said with a smirk.

We all laughed at Ben’s comment when shouting caught my attention.

‘HEY!’ Gally shoves the Greenie away from the gap so hard that he falls pretty hard. ‘We gotta stop meeting like this, Greenie.’

Scrabbling up the Greenie shouts, ‘Get off me!’

‘All right! Calm, calm, calm.’ Gally tries to calm him but he is pissed!

‘Don't touch me!’

‘Whoa! Take it easy! Just relax.’ Newt runs up to the pair, and tries to defuse the situation.

‘What the hell is wrong with you guys?’

‘Just calm down, all right?’

‘No, okay? Why won't you tell me what's out there?’

‘I have.’ I say looking at him trying to work out what this is really about?

‘You guys can't just keep me here.’

‘We are not keeping you here. No-one can leave. We’ve tried. People have died trying to leave. We’re trying to protect you so you don’t end up like them.’

He looks at me with a look of defeat. Gally still angry, storms up to the Greenie and says, ‘Next time, I'm gonna let you leave. Welcome to the Glade.’

‘LIGHT HIM UP!!’ Alby shouts as the Gladers throw fire sticks onto a large straw model.

‘Hell of a first day, Greenie.’ Newt says to him as we sit slightly away from the fire. Picking up his drink off the ground he hands it to him. ‘Here. Put some hair on your chest.’ Newt and I smirk as he takes a sip; immediately spitting it back out!

‘Oh, my God! What is that?’ Newt and I roar with laughter.

‘I don't even know.’ Newt says taking it back and taking a sip himself.

‘It's Gally's recipe. It's a trade secret.’ I say still chuckling as the Greenie tries to recover.

‘Yeah, well, he's still an asshole.’

‘He saved your life today. Trust me. The maze is a dangerous place.’ Newt says gravely; the mood having taken a turn.

‘We're trapped here, aren't we?’ The Greenie says with a sigh.

‘For the moment. But... you see those guys? There, by the fire? Those are the runners. They’re who I was telling you about. That guy in the middle there, that's Minho. He's the Keeper of the Runners. Every morning, when those doors open, they run the maze... mapping it, memorizing it, trying to find a way out.’ I say pointing to the group of runners talking amongst themselves.

‘You mean, you run maze.’ Newt corrects me.

‘You’re a runner?’ The Greenie asks me with surprise.

I nod. ‘Yeah, I wasn’t out today because of the introductions but normally I’d be out there, yeah.’

‘Wow. How long have you been looking?’

‘Three and a half years.’

‘And they haven't found anything?’ His voice was almost pleading.

Before I can say anything, Newt cuts in. ‘It's a lot easier said than done. Listen… Hear that? It's the maze, changing. It changes every night.’ The low rumbling from inside the maze draws our attention.

‘How is that even possible?’ The greenie asks in disbelief.

‘You can ask the people who put us in here, if you ever meet the bastards.’ I say.

Newt continues, ‘Listen, the truth is... the runners are the only ones who really know what's out there. They are the strongest and the fastest of us all. And it's a good thing, too... because if they don't make it back before those doors close... then they are stuck out there for the night. And no one has ever survived a night in the maze.’ I look down at my lap as I clench my hands together.

‘What happens to them?’

‘Well, we call them Grievers. Of course, no one's ever seen one and lived to tell about it. Or if they have, they haven’t wanted to say. Too painful I guess. But they're out there. Right, that's enough questions for one night. Come on. You're supposed to be the guest of honour.’ Newt says changing the subject as he sees me getting a bit tense at the topic of conversation.

‘Oh, no...’ The greenie starts to shake his head, but Newt isn’t having any of it.

‘No! No, come on. Let me show you around. Come on.’ Newt and I grab a hand each and pull him up.

Whoa!

We begin to walk round the fire, addressing the different groups.

‘And there we got the builders. They're very good with their hands... but not a lot going on upstairs.’ Newt says laughing as I punch him in the arm.

‘And then we got Winston... he's the Keeper of the Slicers. And we got two med-jacks, Clint and Jeff. They spend most of their time bandaging up the slicers. Hey guys, what's up?’

‘Yo, Newt. Hey Kira, you speech-ing tonight?’

‘Maybe, might need a few drinks first!’ I laugh as they both shove drinks my way. I take Clint’s and with a smile carry on walking round.

‘What if I want to be a runner?’ The Greenie says stopping short. Newt chokes on his drink, as I just smile. Knew it!

‘Have you listened to a word I've just said? No one wants to be a runner. Well except Kira, and she’s a nutter! (Oi!) And, besides, you gotta get chosen.’ 

‘Chosen by who?’ Before we can reply, the game of Gally (v) Glade ended when the Glader got pushed straight into The Greenie.

‘Whoa!’ The Greenie said trying to catch his footing.

‘What do you say, Greenie?’ Gally taunted. ‘Wanna see what you're made of?’

‘Greenie! Greenie! Greenie!’ The Gladers seems to like this idea a lot. Me, not so much. Not that I didn’t think he could handle himself, I was just worried that Gally would play too rough to get him back for earlier.

‘Okay. All right.’ The Greenie said shrugging his shoulders and walking into the circle. Uh-oh. This won’t be good.

‘The rules are simple, Greenie.’ Gally walked round the circle, talking more to the Gladers than to the Greenie. ‘I try to push you out of the circle... you try to last more than five seconds.’ The crowd laughed at this. ‘Ready?’

Adjusting his wrsitbands, Gally rushes forward and shoves the Greenie out of the circle and into the crowd. They push him back into Gally, where he turns to the side causing the Greenie to fly past him and fall on his face.

‘Get up, boy.’ The crowd obviously hasn’t had enough.

‘Come on, Greenie. We're not done yet.’ Gally said hopping from one foot to the other showing his agility. He gets up from the floor and faces Gally.

‘Stop calling me Greenie.’ He said firmly. Echoes of ‘Ooooooo’ surround the pair. I chuckle to myself. About time somebody stood up to Gally. He’s a bit off a hardass to everybody but me.

‘Stop calling you that? What do you wanna be called? Shank?’ The Gladers cheer as The Greenie runs forward and grips Gally’s arms. The pull each other around, neither one being able to get a leg up. Pulling the Greenie to his right Gally get’s him off of him and onto the floor again. ‘Whoa! Come on!’

‘What do you think, boys? Does he look like a Shank?’ I look across the circle and see Minho looking at the Greenie, almost impressed at his persistence.

‘You know what? I think I've settled on Shank.’ At this the Greenie runs at Gally grabbing him round his waist. Unfazed, Gally pushes him back across the circle looking to push him out. However at the last second the Greenie slides under his arms and pushes Gally to the floor. Gally face-plants as the crowd goes wild.

‘Oh!’

‘There you go, Greenie!’

‘Not bad for a Greenie, huh?’ He says to Gally. Angered Gally catches the Greenie’s ankle with his and pulls him to the floor. His head cracks against the ground with a dull thud. Everyone is silent. I rush forward to see if he is okay. Kneeling beside him, I brush his hair from his face.

‘Thomas.’ He whispers.

‘What?’ I say.

‘Thomas.’ He says louder getting up from the floor.  
  
‘Hey! Thomas! I remember my name. I'm Thomas!’ He looks around with a huge smile on his face.

‘THOMAS!’ We all shout in acknowledgment. He grins at me as I give him a quick hug.

‘Welcome home, Thomas.’ I say to him before the other Gladers file in giving him pats on the back and handshakes. I watch as Gally walks up to him, with a small smirk.

‘Good job... Thomas.’ Laughing, I decide now is a good time for a speech. I stand on a log and wait for people for finish congratulating Thomas. As the boys begin to notice me they quiet down.

‘Okay, so, another month, another Greenie.’ I say looking at Thomas. ‘I, on behalf of everyone, would like to formally welcome you to the Glade. We welcome you as a friend and a brother. I say this to all the new Greenie’s so everybody else has heard it before. We Gladers are a family. We live, work and fight as a family. And now you are part of that family. So congrats on remembering your name. It suits you.’ Raising my glass, I shout, ‘To Thomas!’

‘Thomas’ Everybody echoes holding their own drinks in the air. As the party gets restarted, I can see Thomas looking slightly overwhelmed.

‘You okay?’ I ask.

He nods. ‘It’s a lot to take in. Being able to remember your mane and nothing else. When you can’t remember anything you think it might all come back at once. But when I remembered my name and nothing else came back…’ He smiles. ‘Guess I should be grateful for the name.’ I put my arm round his shoulder and squeeze. A loud noise interrupts what I was going to say next. The party comes to a halt instantly.

‘What the hell was that?’ Thomas says.

‘That, my friend, was a Griever.’ Newt says walking up to us. ‘Don't worry, you're safe here with us. Nothing gets through those walls.’

‘All right, guys. Let's tuck it in for the night. Come on. It was a good night.’ Alby calls clapping his hands. As people walk past Thomas they pat him shoulders and his back.

‘Good job, man.’

I tap his shoulder and nod towards the hammocks. ‘Get some sleep.’ Seeing his apprehension I say, ‘Seriously, don’t worry. You're safe here with us.’


	11. Ben

Chapter 11

I wake up early the next morning, not having had a repeat of the dream from yesterday. I sit in bed for a moment thinking about the events of yesterday.   
Thomas. He intrigues me. He is extremely curious, which is odd in this place. He wants to know everything about everything; he wants to see it all, even if it means becoming a runner. He reminds me of myself in a way. When I first got here, before I had experienced the maze. Gradually though I can feel that part of me returning, and with him here asking all the questions I want answers to… well, I thought that things were going to change. Maybe I was right.

Pulling myself out of bed I dress and head outside. Everyone but the runners are still asleep and I decide this is a good time to show Thomas the wall. Walking silently across the glade towards the hammocks I see Thomas next to Chuck, tossing and turning in his sleep.

‘WICKED is good,’ he murmurs in his sleep. WICKED is good? That is what the person in my dream said. Was he having the same ones? I made a mental note to ask him about it later. Placing my hand on his shoulder, I gently shake it to wake him.

‘Thomas,’ I whisper. Opening his eyes with a start, I shove my hand over his mouth to prevent him from waking the others. Their hangovers would be bad enough without being woken early. ‘Shhhhhh,’ I put my finger to my lips. Beckoning to him I say, ‘Follow me,’ and begin to walk towards the wall. I hear him shuffling to get ready and follow.

‘It’s peaceful, isn’t it? I know it’s hard to believe, but it wasn't always this way.’ I pause and look behind me to see if he is following. He is, with a look of confusion and interest. I smile at him and continue. ‘We had dark days. We lost some boys to fear. To panic. Too a loss of faith.’ I smile sadly thinking of Nick. ‘We've come far since then. Established order...made peace.’ I look back at him again and see him looking at me, as if trying to decipher what I’m really saying.

‘Yeah. Why are you telling me this?’ He asks quietly.

We’ve reached the wall of names now. I look up and slowly stroke the line through Nick’s name.

‘Because you're not like the others. You're curious. I can relate.’ I laugh softly. ‘But you're one of us now. You’re family. You need to know what that means. This wall, every time we get a new Glader they carve their name on this wall. If something happens… well you can see for yourself.’

He looks up at the wall of names, focusing on the ones that are crossed out. ‘What happened to them?’

‘Like I said...dark days.’ I pass him a knife, and he begins to chip his own name into the stone.

‘Hey guys. You ready Kira?’ Minho is standing by the wall with my vest and pack. I nod holding up a finger.

‘1 second.’ Turing back to Thomas I smile at his finished name. ‘Newt and Chuck will look after you today. You’re going to be doing the rounds of the jobs available. Whichever one you suit, that’ll be you job. You look like a trach-hoe to me, you know, if you’re not a runner.’ Winking at him I jog over to Minho, who is now joined by Newt, Ben and Ably.

‘Hey guys.’ I say taking my stuff from Minho. ‘You going out on your own today?’ I say to Ben. He grins at me and nods.

‘Yep, seeing as you’ve nicked my partner, guess I’ll have to.’ He shoves my shoulder lightly and runs off into the maze. After watching him leave I turn my attention to Alby and Newt.

Alby pulls me into a hug, and says, ‘Good Luck.’ I smile at him and he starts talking to Minho. I walk over to Newt who looks at me with a grin.

‘You sure you can handle it.’ He says with a chuckle. ‘Being alone with Minho for 10 minutes is enough for the rest of us.’

I laugh. ‘I’m sure I’ll manage. If he gets too bad I’ll just leave him behind. He knows I’m faster than him.’ He laugh together at the look on Minho’s face as he catches wind of the conversation.

‘Come on, we should go,’ he says to me. I turn and give Newt a quick hug, pulling away and running into the maze before he can see the crimson colour permeating my cheeks. I hear Minho roar with laughter and follow.

We run for a good few hours without really talking before slowing slightly as we reach our section.

‘You and Newt are hilarious!’ Minho says suddenly. Feigning ignorance I look at him with a surprised look.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ He scoffs at this and sits down. ‘What are you doing,’ I ask confused. ‘We’re not done yet.’ He crosses him arms and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. I decide to sit on the floor opposite him and reply with an eyebrow raise of my own. He doesn’t say anything. ‘What?’ I bark. He smirks at me and says, ‘You and Newt.’

‘What about me and Newt.’

‘Oh come on. You obviously like each other. Everybody sees it… except apparently you two.’ He throws his arms out in frustration. ‘How can you not see it? Neither of you are particularly subtle.’

‘You know, for a bunch of guys, you lot do like to gossip.’ I say finally.

‘Has someone else said something?’ Minho asks.

I hesitate about whether I should tell him. What harm can it do? ‘Alby.’

Minho bursts into laughter. I look at him and wonder what he finds so hilarious. I wait for Minho to recover and ask, ‘What was so funny?’

‘Alby isn’t normally one to gossip, is all.’ I nod unconvinced. ‘You really like him, don’t you? Newt.’

I blush at the thought of him. How ridiculous! Blushing at the thought of someone.

‘Ha.’ Minho cries. ‘Knew it!’ I shake my head attempting to backtrack, but Minho won’t have it. ‘Oh My God. Everyone is going to be so excited! Glader wedding!’ I balk at the thought.

‘Woah, we haven’t even told each other how we feel, let alone a bloody wedding!’ I stop suddenly and my eyes widen, realising what I just said. Minho drops the excitable pose and leans back against the wall with a smirk. Fuck. He was playing me. ‘Fuck you.’ I mutter.

‘Gotcha.’ His smirk stays firmly on his face. I’m about to respond when loud cries echo across the maze.

‘HEY! HEY! HEY! HELP! HELP! HELP ME!’

I look to Minho as we race towards the cries. ‘It’s coming from the Glade!’ Pushing even harder we streak into the Glade to see Ben being carried away screaming from a shaken Thomas. Minho runs to Ben to find out what’s going on as I run to Thomas.

‘What the hell is going on?’ I demand as I get closer to Thomas and Chuck.

‘Ben!’ Chuck started. ‘He attacked Thomas! He was stung!’ Stung! In the day?

‘What? In the day?’’ Chuck just nodded. ‘Are you okay? I say quietly putting my hand on his shoulder. He doesn’t say anything just shakes his head.

‘Chuck, why don’t you go back to work?’ I smile at him, and he shuffles away. I take Thomas’ hand and take him to the tree. ‘Tell me what happened, from the beginning.’

Thomas takes a deep breath and starts, ‘I was working in the fields with Newt. We needed more fertiliser and I was asked to go and get some from the woods.’ I nod to show him I’m listening. ‘I walked past a sort of… graveyard.’

‘The Deadheads.’

‘I was looking at one of the grave markers. Umm, George. Anyway I stood up to go back to work and Ben was there. Just standing behind me. I began to introduce myself, but he looked off. I asked if he was okay and he attacked me. I managed to push him off and run back to the Glade but he tackled me. The others came and pulled him off me. That’s when they lifted his shirt and saw the sting.’

I nod slowly taking it all in. ‘Did he say anything to you?’

‘He said, he saw me… and that this was all my fault. How could this be my fault?’ His voice cracks as he finishes his sentence.

I grab his hand. ‘It might not be. Everybody worries about who’s responsible for putting us here. You’re the new kid. The infection probably just caused him to put 2 and 2 together and come out with that. And to be honest, no insult to you, but no teenager did this to us. It’s too advanced.’

‘What happened to him?’ Thomas said, his voice barely above a whisper.

‘We call it The Changing. It’s what happens when someone is stung. It causes them to basically go mad. He’s not Ben anymore. He’s dangerous. He can’t stay here anymore.’ I sigh and look at my lap.

‘What are you going to do?’

‘He broke the rules. He attacked you. We don’t hurt each other.’ I can hardly make myself say it. ‘We have to banish him.’

‘Banish him? Where?’ I look over to the maze. ‘In there? Overnight? You said no-one survives overnight.’ I nod. ‘Right.’

‘It’s that or kill him straight away. But he broke the rules. This is his punishment.’ With that I climbed down the tree and towards the Slammer where Ben was being held. Gally stood outside with his back to Ben.

‘You can go, Gally.’ I said softly putting my hand on his shoulder.

‘You sure?’ He said dubiously looking towards the Slammer with a narrowed eye.

‘Yeah, go on. Frypan’s nearly ready with food.’

‘Okay, you need us, just shout.’ I smile at this remark as Gally leaves. I sit beside the bars of the Slammer. Ben is huddled in a corner whimpering to himself.

‘Ben? It’s me. Kira. Do you recognise me?’ I spoke gently as not to alarm him. He nodded his head slightly. ‘What you said to Thomas; what did you mean?’ At Thomas’ name Ben stood and bashed his hands against the gate. I jumped and slid away from him.

‘THIS IS HIM! IT’S HIS FAULT! HE DID THIS TO US! HE’S WORKING WITH THEM!’ Ben shouted, repeatedly smashing his head and hands against the bars.

‘Hey, hey, hey. Calm, Ben. Calm.’ He turned and planted himself on the floor with his knees pulled us to his face. ‘Ben. Look at me. You broke the rules. You attacked another Glader.’ I felt tears begin to run down my face.

Ben started rocking backwards and forwards. ‘No, no please, no, no, no.’ He whimpered over and over again.

‘I’m so sorry, Ben.’

‘I can get better. I promise. I can. Please don’t.’ I couldn’t listen to him anymore so stood up and walked away.

After we had eaten, the boys and I surrounded the gap in the wall. Minho went to get Ben as Alby and I handed out the poles.

‘Chuck, can you take the younger boys into the homestead with you. You don’t need to see this.’ Chuck, quite relieved at this task, gathered the younger boys and took them to the homestead. We now had 20 boys. 15 were given sharp poles, whilst Alby, Newt, Gally, Frypan and Zart took long poles with a horizontal flat top. These were to make sure that Ben has no other option than to go into the maze. It was cruel, but it had to be done.

‘Please, Minho!’ Ben’s cries extended over the entire Glade. I stood of to the side with Thomas.

‘You don’t have to be here, you know.’ I whisper to him.

‘I have to see.’ He replies.

‘Alby! Kira! No, please. Please, don't. Please, don't do it.’ Minho pushes Ben into the centre of the huddle of boys and throws a canteen of water into the maze.

‘Poles!’ Alby orders. The boys all face their poles towards Ben, so he has no-where to go but the maze. This distresses him even more as he pushes at the poles trying to get past.

‘Move in!’ The 5 begin to walk towards the gap, pushing Ben further and further into the maze.

‘No, no, no! Please! No, please! Please, don't! I can get better! Please, just listen to me! Please, stop, please!’ Ben shouts and screams at us trying to get them to stop pushing. I can’t watch anymore so look at the ground. Thomas’ arm curls round my shoulder as a form of comfort.

‘Push him in!’

‘Stop! I'll get better!’ As the sides of the wall begin to close, Ben shoves even harder at the poles, but they won’t budge. The walls are getting closer and closer and so Ben runs into the maze to prevent being crushed by the closing walls. With one last desperate look, Ben disappears from view as the walls closes completely. I look up at Thomas and see a lone tear fall down his face. Guilt. We all feel it right now. The boys lean their poles against the wall and look to Alby.

‘He belongs to the maze now,’ is all Alby says before heading to the homestead. He catches my eye as he walks past. The pure guilt pours out of both of us. Thomas gives me one last squeeze before leaving as well.   
I stay staring at the wall for a couple more minutes.   
Goodbye Ben. I can feel Newt coming up behind me.

‘Hey.’

‘Hey.’ I look up at him to see him also staring.

‘We need to find it. The Griever that stung Ben. We have only seen one in the daylight before and that was months ago.’

‘You think it’s the same one?’

‘Maybe. Either way we need to find it. Tracking his last steps will be tricky though. He was on his own, so unless he jotted it down…’

‘You know that’s not how runner’s operate Kira.’

‘Yeah, I know.’

‘It could take weeks.’

‘Then we better get started.’ I go to leave but Newt catches my hand. I try not to notice how our hands fit perfectly together, because I’m sad, but AHHHHH. Breathe Kira. I look back at him and he pulls me into a hug. I sigh and lean my head on his shoulder; breathing in, I realise I love how Newt smells. What a weirdo. But I do. I love it. I can’t describe it with anything but Newt.   
We stay like this for a good 5-10 minutes. When I step back he is smiling at me through unshed tears. As I reach up for his face a few escape onto his cheek. My thumbs brush them away quickly as he looks away from me. I turn his face back towards mine.

‘You don’t let me shy away. Goes both ways.’ I smirk as a smile makes his way onto his face. ‘This is a two-way thing. We look out for each other, right?’ He nods and hugs me again.

‘Thank you,’ He whispers in my ear.

‘Yeah.’ As I step back I kiss his cheek lightly. ‘You should get some sleep.’

Walking away I catch Minho’s eye over by the hammocks. He stands there like a fool, wiggling his eyebrows like something scandalous just went on. I roll my eyes and head to the homestead.

‘Kira. WICKED is good. Remember that. You are the start of the finding the cure. The First. Deep breath. This is gonna hurt a little.’ Can’t breathe. What’s happening? Help! Someone! Help me!

‘Wicked is good. Remember.’


	12. A night in the Maze

Chapter 12

Almost another month went by relatively normally. Minho and I would spend the days running the maze trying to track Ben’s movements. The other runner’s had quit as soon as Ben got stung. They didn’t want to risk bumping into Grievers in the day. I didn’t blame them but Minho and I needed to find this Griever; so that the Glade could feel safe, or so that Ben could be avenged, I don’t know.

Thomas had decided to work in the farms with Newt, although I could tell he still had his heart set on being a runner. He had really started to fit in with the group. He would joke around with Chuck and Jak and even help Gally with some of the building work. The questions never died down, but he soon accepted that we didn’t have all the answers. I still hadn’t had a chance to ask him about WICKED. Was he having the same dream as I was? The people with the masks. The feeling of drowning. I had to ask, and soon.

Minho and I ran back through the gap after another day of running the maze. We ran up to Alby and Newt who were waiting for us.

‘Anything?’ Alby asked.

I nodded. ‘Yeah. We found Ben’s pack.’ I showed them the extra pack I was carrying. It was ripped and dirty but it was definitely his. ‘He must have dropped it after he was stung. We now know roughly where it happened.’

‘Tomorrow, we need you to come with us Alby,’ Minho stated. ‘I know I’m being optimistic, but if we find it and manage to kill it, Kira and I are not going to be able to bring it back on our own. She says they are massive.’ I nod agreeing.

‘They are. We’re gonna need an extra pair of hands.’

‘Okay,’ Alby says after a minute. ‘Newt you’ll be in charge.’

‘Time to show your stripes!’ I say lightly grinning at Newt. He rolls his eyes as we all head into the homestead.

The next morning Minho, Alby, Newt and I, stand by the wall waiting for it too open.

‘It’s mainly building stuff going on today. There shouldn’t be any bother but if there is just sort it out. You know how it works.’ Alby instructs Newt. He nods in acknowledgment as the wall begins to rumble. They quickly say their goodbyes along with Minho. I step forward as Newt pulls me into a hug.

‘Be careful out there.’ He whispers into my ear.

‘I always am,’ I say with a grin.

He grabs my hands and says, ‘Promise me you’ll come back.’

I smile and give his hands a squeeze. ‘I promise. Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.’ After quickly kissing him on the cheek, the three of us run into the maze. Minho again is laughing to himself.

‘Don’t say it,’ I shout back at him as we tear through the winding, paths back to where we found the bag.

Laughter is the only response I get from the pair of them.

It takes us a couple of hours to make it back to a small inverted part of the wall where we found the pack. ‘Here,’ I say to Alby. ‘We found it here.’ We get into a tight formation not wanting there to be any blind spots. We move slowly, keeping an eye out for any Grievers. My nerves are through the roof. I almost can’t breathe at the idea that I’m going to see a Griever again. We reach a 3-way fork in the path – left, right and straight on.

‘Which way?’ Alby says to us. Minho and I look at each other, both shrugging out shoulders.

‘We should split up.’ Minho says. My head snaps to look at him with shock.

‘What? Split up? Are you crazy? With a Griever out here?’ I shake my head.

‘He’s right Kira.’ Alby says with a sigh. ‘We keep talking to each other and at any sign of a Griever, we shout.’

‘It’s not safe. Ben was on his own, and he got stung.’

‘We don’t have another option,’ Minho said firmly. ‘We have to check all three out.’

I sigh. I know they’re right but I don’t like it. ‘Fine. But we keep talking.’

They both nod. ‘I’ll take left.’ Alby says.

‘I’ve got this one,’ Minho nods towards the right.

‘Guess I’m straight.’ I exhale sharply.

‘I should hope so.’ Minho jokes. ‘Newt would be severely disappointed if not.’ I roll my eyes at this.

‘Go!’ I demand with a humourless smile. We each head down our own paths. I keep my knife braced out in front of me ready to strike if I need too.

‘AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!’ I whip round. That came from my left.

‘ALBY!’

Newt’s POV

As I watched them run off into the maze, I let out a breath I’d been holding in. ‘Please be careful Kira,’ I whispered to myself. I knew that she was fully capable of looking after herself but I worry anyway. I can’t help it. Pulling my eyes away from the maze, I turned and walked over to kitchen area, where Fry was already cooking up a storm.

‘Hey man,’ I said to get his attention.

‘Hey Newt, you in charge today?’ Frypan had obviously seen Alby and Kira Go off with Minho.

‘Yeah, I am. Anything I can do to help?’

‘You get the lovely job of waking up the boys.’ I sigh. Knew it. He hands me a pan and a wooden spoon.

‘Here. Talking might not be enough.’

I laugh. ‘Thanks.’

A couple of hours later, Zart and I are chopping up some wood for the builders. Tommy is supposed to be helping, but seems distracted by the maze as always.

‘But why would Alby go into the maze? I mean, he's not a runner. Surely Minho and Kira can handle themselves.’ Tommy says. I roll my eyes.

‘Things are different now. Minho and Kira found Ben’s pack yesterday. Alby went as an extra pair of hands if they need him. Are you gonna help?’

‘So they’re gonna go back to where Ben was just stung…’

‘They know what they’re doing... all right? Especially Kira. She knows better than any of us.’

‘What does that mean?’ Tommy looked really confused by that. Had she not told him?

‘Well, it's like you have heard, yeah? Every month, the Box sends up a new arrival. But someone had to be first, right? Someone had to have spent a whole month in the Glade, alone. That was Kira. I mean, it can't have been easy. But when Alby came up, with more supplies than the two of them could ever need... she saw the truth. And she learned that the most important thing... is that we all have each other. Because we're all in this together.’

I looked up at Tommy and his mouth was hanging open.

‘She was here all alone?’ He said quietly.

‘Yeah. She started all of this. All we have is because of her.’

This seemed to click somewhere in Tommy, as he got up and knelt down by the stump we were working on. He brought up his machete and brought it down hard.

‘Yeah. There you go, Greenie.’ As we got back to work a huge storm rolled in above us. The rain started pouring down soaking everyone. Seeing it was not going to stop anytime soon, we ran under cover. I leaned back against one of the support poles watching the maze opening. They’ll make it. They’ll make it. I keep repeating this like it’s a mantra.

‘They should be back by now.’ Tommy echo’s the very thoughts I don’t want to hear. ‘What happens if they don't make it?’

I can’t think about that. ‘They're gonna make it.’ Tommy’s obviously not satisfied by that answer. He walks up to my side.

‘What happens if they don't?’

‘They're gonna make it.’ I repeat nodding to myself. They have to.

Kira POV

Carrying a 6ft piece of dead weight on my own? Impossible. Carrying a 6ft piece of dead weight with Minho? Slightly more probable but still genuinely difficult. With Minho taking the bulk of the weight we moved as quickly as we could through the dark passages. As the rain stopped we started seeing signs showing we were close. We sped up as much as we could but we were reaching our limit. We couldn’t carry him for much longer. My arms and legs screamed with pain as, I imagine, did Minho’s. It got darker and darker and we knew that it was only a matter of time before the doors closed and we were stuck here. As we reached the final stretch to the Glade we could see the boys standing round the entrance. Minho and I heaved Alby up into a more comfortable position and pushed further. As we were moving my leg caught on a vine on the floor and we went tumbling. Minho scrabbled back up as began to hear the rumbling of the maze beginning to move.

‘Go,’ I said to Minho. I had already made my decision. As soon as the prospect of us not getting back in time came about, I knew what I would do.

‘What!’ He shouted. ‘I’m not leaving you!’

‘Come on. Come on.’ The boys were screaming from the Glade.

‘Newt needs you. I have to stay with Alby.’ I say trying to make him see sense.

‘Newt needs YOU!’ He cries imploringly.

I stand up and push him towards the Glade. ‘Go. Tell Newt I’m sorry but I’m going to keep my promise. GO!!’ I kneel back down to check on Alby. I hear Newt shouting my name, but I don’t look up at him. I can’t. Minho groans in frustration and begins running to the gap. The doors begin to close as he makes it through. I can see him talking to Newt and grabbing his shoulders.

‘Come on Kira! Leave him.’

I shake my head at them and look back at Alby. The groaning rumble of the doors shutting makes my heart clench with fear but I keep my eyes locked on Alby.

‘Thomas, no!!’ I snap my head back up and see Tommy running and pushing through the gap and it shuts. The doors shut as he rolls away from them, on our side.

I get up and run towards him and throw my arms around him. ‘What did you do you idiot!’ I cry as he hold me tightly.

‘I couldn’t just leave you both.’

I draw back and look at him incredulously ‘Yes, you could. Those are rules. You don’t enter the maze!’

‘Well I did so…’ His eyes catch Alby behind me. ‘What happened to him?’

‘He got stung. We think by the Griever that stung Ben.’ I kneel beside him again stroking his forehead.

‘What happened to his head?’

‘You saw Ben when he as stung. We couldn’t control him. Minho knocked him out so we could carry him.’ I sigh. ‘Come on. We can’t stay here. We have to get him up.’

Thomas and I grabbed an arm and a leg each and carried him down a path off the stretch. After a while of trying to find somewhere to hide I say, ‘Sit him down,’ as we lean him against the wall.

I look at Tommy. ‘Were not going to last if we can’t move full speed. We’re gonna have to stash him somewhere.’

‘You know of anywhere?’ He asks trying to get his breath back.

I start to shake my head when a wall of vines catches my attention. Walking up to it I pull on one of them. It’s looped round from the top. I turn to Tommy, and pull the vine again with enthusiasm.

‘Like a pulley,’ I exclaim.

Maintaining eye contact he says, ‘That could work.’ We smile and begin to pull up Alby when a loud clanking, clicking sound roots us to the ground.

‘Griever!’ He whispers.

I nod. ‘We need to do this quickly.’ Tying the vines round Alby’s chest and under his arms, we grab the other end of the vine and pull him up.

‘2, 3, Pull.’ We pull heaving him up higher.

‘2, 3, Pull.’ And again, pulling Alby up into the cover of the vines.

‘A little more and we’ll tie him off.’ Thomas says. We pull again and again, whilst the clicking is getting closer and closer and louder and louder.

‘Tommy, we have to go!’ I urge feeling the hairs on the back of my neck start to stand up. I look round the corner and see a Griever at the end of the path. ‘Tommy!’

‘One more!’ We pull again and Alby is high enough that he can’t been seen easily from the ground. We quickly tie it off to stop him from falling.

Noticing the vines overhanging the wall I push Tommy underneath it saying, ‘There ain’t room for us both!’ I run in the opposite direction hoping to lead the Griever away from Alby and Thomas.

I run as fast as I can with the Griever on my tail. My blood pounds in my ears and my heart hammers against my ribcage. Move, Kira, Move. You said you’d keep your promise. MOVE! Left, Right, Left, Right. Winding through unfamiliar paths trying to lose it. The clanging behind me suddenly disappears. I stop and turn around to see the Griever is gone. I stop still as I listen for it. But there is nothing at all. It’s like even the leaves have stopped blowing. Everything is still, like it’s waiting for something to happen. Deathly silence. My eyes flick around searching for something, anything.   
What’s that? I can hear hammering footsteps. But I can’t work out where they are coming from. They almost sound like they are above me. I look up just in time to see Thomas jumping off the top of one other walls and grabbing on to the vines on the other side. I almost shout his name until I hear the clanging and see a Griever jump off after him. Stumbling back I keep my eyes on the Griever scrabbling above Thomas on the vines. For a second I can’t see him, but I do see the Griever pull back it’s stingers to strike. I have to do something.

‘HEY!’ I shout, grabbing the Grievers attentions. Having seen me, it goes to jump down but gets caught in the vines bringing itself and Thomas down with it. I run forward seeing Thomas stuck in vines and quickly untangle him whilst the Griever pulls at its own vines. Getting him free I pull him up and we begin to run; the Griever following closely behind.

‘You’re a crazy son of a bitch.’ I scream at him as we run. ‘Follow me.’ The clunking of the maze changing forms a plan in my head. We need a Griever, and I know how to get one. We pull up on a path that it about to change. ‘Run down there!’ I shout. ‘I’ll be right behind you.’ He immediately begins to run. As the walls start to close off the Griever comes round the corner. ‘Come on!’

‘Kira, come on!’ Thomas shouts. ‘It’s seen you. You can go!’ He caught on quickly.

‘Come on!’ I scream. As it starts toward me, I dart down the path. Urghhh. Why did I decide to do this? The walls come in tighter and tighter. I can feel the Griever on my tail but I don’t look back.

‘Come on, Kira! Run! Don't look back! Move it! Go on!’ Thomas’ face is filled with sure panic. As I push out of the end and roll onto the floor a deafening crash from behind me fills the maze. I lay on the floor getting my breath back as Thomas just stares at the wall.

‘You did it.’ He says quietly. ‘You fucking did it!’ He grabs my arms, pulls me up and into a hug. Over his shoulder I see the crushed remains of a Griever.

Holy Fuck.


	13. A clue

Chapter 13

After retrieving Alby from the vines we started heading back to the door. The sun had started to come up and the grumbling of the doors opening brought smiles to our faces. As we turned the corner we saw the Gladers all turning away from the door and walking to back to their duties.

‘No big welcome then?’ I shout at them. Zart turns first, then Chuck.

‘Yeah!’ He shouts. Tommy and I struggle the last few paces until Minho runs in to help us. I give Alby to Minho as he and Tommy take him the last of the way. I rub the friction burn on my arm from the wall, as I think about that Griever. As we cross into the Glade, Clint and Jeff run forward to assess Alby. Chuck runs forward also and throws his arms round my neck.

‘I knew you could do it!’ He says beaming at me. ‘You saw a Griever?’

‘Yeah,’ I nod ‘I saw one.’ I look at Newt. His expression is unreadable. I can’t tell whether he is angry, or relived or what? I smile weakly at him. I get a small one in return.

‘She didn’t just see it.’ Tommy announces. ‘She killed it!’ The Gladers heads snap to mine.

‘Is that true?’ Newt asks me.

I nod. ‘Yeah, it’s true. Squished it with the changing maze walls.’

Gasps and mutters surrounded us.

‘We need to talk.’ Gally states, looking at me. ‘About him.’ He points at Thomas.

‘Yeah, we do. Everyone to the council hall.’ I shout and the boys file off one by one. ‘Clint, Jeff are you okay to stay with Alby?’

‘Yeah, that’s fine. Just so you know. We’re with you. Whatever you decide we’ll support it.’ I grin at the boys.

‘Cheers.’

Clint walks up and whispers, ‘Though I’d rather you rewarded him, than punish him. He did save Alby’s life after all.’ With that he and Jeff carry Alby to the med-tent. I smile. Thomas looks at me with a small smile.

‘What’s going to happen?’ He asks.

‘We’ll have to see.’ I know exactly what is going to happen but I want to see what everybody else thinks first.

‘Okay,’ he says, walking off to the hall.

It’s just Newt and me left. Before I can say anything he pulls me into a tight hug. I sigh with relief and hug him back.

‘We’ll talk later. Okay.’ He says sternly. I smile and nod, before we head off to the hall.

‘Will you lead this?’ I ask Newt before we enter. ‘I’m kinda bias.’

‘Yeah, okay.’  
  


The Gladers all sit around the edge of the hall whilst Gally stands in the middle waiting for us all to get in. Thomas sits at the back with a nervous look on his face. When I catch his eye, I wink at him and walk to stand beside Gally.

‘Things are changing. There's no denying that. First, Ben gets stung in broad daylight. And then Alby. And now our Greenie, here, has taken it upon himself... to go into the maze. Which is a clear violation of our rules here.’ Gally really has it out for him.

‘Yeah... but he saved Alby's life.’ Frypan interjects.

‘Did he? For 3 years, we have coexisted with these things. And now, you two have killed one of them. Who knows what that could mean for us?’ He says pointing at Thomas and I.

‘Yeah, your right. Co-existing. We have been terrified of Grievers ever we first got here. And we’ve never fought back. They killed several of us. And we’ve done nothing! Because they were big and scary and because we didn’t know how. I decided that enough was enough. I decided that I was not going to let anybody else die without doing something.’ I glared at Gally. Why was he fighting this? What was his problem?

‘What do you suggest we do?’ Newt asks Gally.

‘He has to be punished.’

Grumbles of disagreement fill the hall.

‘Come on.’

‘He helped kill a Griever!’

‘Minho. What do you think?’

‘I think... in all the time we've been here... no one has ever killed a Griever before. When I turned tail and ran... this dumb shank ran into the maze to help Alby. Look, I don't know if he's brave or stupid. But whatever it is, we need more of it.’

I smile a Minho. He’ll agree with what I’m about to do next.

‘Kira.’

‘I say we make him a runner.’

Mixed sounds came from the Gladers that time.

‘A runner? What?’

‘Kira, let's not jump the gun, here.’

‘Thomas! Thomas! Thomas!’ I smirked at Chuck trying to start a chant.

‘When we were out there, Thomas didn’t leave us. He helped me haul Alby up into the vines. He distracted the Griever pretty much all night. And then to top it all off threw himself off one of the walls to grab the vines on the other side. He’s fast, strong, smart and incredibly loyal. What more do we look for in a runner? He’s a perfect candidate.’ I looked at Thomas and saw the complete surprise on his face.

‘If you want to throw the newbie a parade, that's fine. Go ahead. But if there is one thing I know about the maze... it is that you do not-‘

‘How about we ask the Keeper?’ I said interrupting Gally. I looked over at Minho, as did everyone else.

He smirked at me. ‘Why not.’ He said after a second. ‘Can’t just be you and me forever!’ I laughed at the small shrug of his shoulders.

‘Well, it’s settled then.’ Newt said ignoring Gally’s look of anger. ‘Welcome to the Runner’s Thomas.’

I laughed again at the smile plastering itself on his face. He wouldn’t like what came next though.

‘We still need to come to a decision about your punishment.’ I say to him. ‘You still broke the rules.’

He nods looking at his hands.

‘Night in the Slammer?’ I suggest to the Gladers. The murmuring sounds of consensus fill me confidence. ‘Alrighty, that’s that.’ I clap my hands and walk out of the council hall.

‘Hey, where are you going?’ Chuck and Newt run after me.

‘To see Alby then back into the maze. Thomas is coming with me. And whoever else wants too.’ I turn and walk over to the med-tent to see Alby. As I walk in Clint and Jeff look up.

‘Outcome?’ Clint asks.

‘Night in the slammer…’ He nods. ‘And he’s a runner.’ He looks at me with surprise.

‘Really?’

‘Really really,’ Newt says walking in. I smirk at Thomas sideling in beside him.

‘Just came to check how he is?’ I says nodding down at Alby.

‘Well, he’s strong, but he’s like the others. He won’t last much longer.’ I sigh and reach down to kiss his forehead.

As I’m about to leave a loud claxon fills the air. We all look at each other in confusion.

‘That’s the Box. It’s early.’

‘It's coming back up. It shouldn't be.’ We all run outside to the box. Newt throws open the lid and jumps in.

‘Newt, what do you see?’

‘Do you see it?’ The boys are craning the necks over each other to see what’s in the box.

‘It's a girl.’ What? Another girl. I grin at the thought of having another girl to talk too. I can feel the boy’s eyes on me but I keep my eyes locked on her. This is so exciting!

‘No way.’ Yes way!

‘I think she's dead.’ What! Noooo!

‘She’s not dead.’ I say jumping into the box. ‘What use would a dead girl be?’ Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead.

‘What's in her hand?’ Gally asks.

Newt reaches down and pulls the bit of paper from her hand. ‘"She's the last one... ever." What the hell does that mean?’ As we look up to the others, the girl jolts awake.

‘Whoa!’ Newt and I jump back from her.

‘Thomas...’ She says before passing out again. Everyone stares at Thomas in shock, though I can feel a grin spreading on my face.

‘What you smirking at?’ Gally asks.

‘Tommy’s got a girlfriend, Tommy’s got a girlfriend.’ I say softly in a sing-song voice. Newt splutters with laughter but I’m pretty sure he’s the only one that heard me.

Gally just rolls his eyes and says, ‘Do you still think I'm overreacting?’

Walking back into the med-tent Newt asks, ‘Jeff, what's going on? What's the matter with her? Why won't she wake up?’

Jeff holds up his hands saying ‘Hey man, I got my job the same way you did.’

‘Do you recognize her Tommy?’ I ask putting my hand on his shoulder.

‘No.’ I can tell he’s lying. Did he see her in a dream like mine?

‘Really? Because she seemed to recognize you.’ Newt says.

‘What about the note?’ Tommy changes the subject. He doesn’t like lying.

‘We'll worry about the note later.’ Newt says sighing.

‘I think you should worry about it now.’ Ah, Tommy. Always worrying.

‘We've got enough to deal with at the moment.’

‘He's right, Newt. If the Box isn't coming back up, how long do you think we can last?’ Jeff asks.

‘No one said that. Let's not jump to any conclusions. We'll just wait until she wakes up and see what she knows. Somebody has gotta have some answers around here.’

Seeing that everything is handled here I tap Thomas on the shoulder and we walk back outside and towards the maze.

‘Where are you going?’ Minho runs after us.

‘Back into the maze.’ Thomas says before walking away again.

‘Hey- Hey, Thomas. Kira.’ He says catching up with us again and blocking our path. ‘What is this with you two, huh? A death wish? You just got out and now you want back in?’

‘No one but me has ever seen a Griever and lived to tell about it, and at the time I wasn’t really in the right state of mind to kill it for study. Minho, now we have one. You're telling me you're not even a little bit curious?’ I try to make his see where we are coming from.

‘Not really, no.’ We sigh and continue walking. Minho runs in front of us again. ‘So, what's the plan? You're gonna go out and dissect that thing all by yourselves?’

‘We will if we have too.’ Thomas says.

‘Why are you in such a hurry to get back out there?’ Minho asks.

‘I think it's time we find out what we're really up against.’

I can see Minho coming around. ‘All right. But you're not going back out there alone. Meet me in the woods in half-an-hour.’

Half an hour later Tommy and I are leaning against the runner hut waiting for Minho.

‘Who’d you think will come?’ Tommy asks.

‘Probably Zart, Winston, maybe Frypan.’ I say thinking about who Minho is most likely to ask.

A twig snaps from behind us, and out comes Minho… with Zart, Winston and Frypan.

‘Told you.’ I say to Tommy.

‘Will this be enough?’ Minho asks.

‘Yeah, let’s go.’ I say to the group.

We run into the maze and trace back to where I killed the Griever. I stop looking down the path to our left.

‘There.’ I point to the crushed remains of a Griever.

‘Shit, Kira. You did a number on that one.’ Frypan says, looking at me as if I had done it with my bare hands.

‘The walls helped,’ I say but his expression doesn’t change.

‘That's disgusting.’ Zart grimaces. It really was. Stuff that looked like intestines and organs were seeping out of the wall. It looked like it was both machine and creature. Weird!

‘There's something in there.’ Thomas says suddenly narrowing his eyes and getting a closer look. I get closer as well. He’s right. There’s a blinking red dot in the Grievers squished body.

‘You mean, besides a Griever pancake?’ Frypan says turning his nose up at the sight.

Minho steps forward and shoves his hand into the gap towards the light.

‘Whoa, what are you doing?’ Zart exclaims.

‘He’s gonna try and get it.’ I say. As Minho reaches in, the leg that’s sticking out of the space jerks. We all fly back to the other wall in case it’s not dead.

‘Whoa! I thought you said it was dead.’ Frypan cries.

‘Was it a reflex?’ Zart suggests.

‘You hope.’ Winston snaps.

‘Okay, come on. Let's try and pull it out. Everyone get a hand on it. Come on. All right, ready? On three. One, two, three!’ I command. We pull on the leg until it rips from the rest of the body. The sudden dislodging causes several of us to lose our balance. Most of us are able to correct ourselves but Frypan falls onto the floor.

‘Are you okay, Fry?’ Thomas asks as he helps him up.

‘Yeah. Thanks, brother.’ Frypan replies clasping their hands together.

Minho notices the light has fallen out and is now in the pile of organs on the floor. He reaches down and picks up an organ that looks a bit like a jellyfish. Minho pulls a metal cylinder out from the organ. It is covered in gunge.

‘Urghhh,’ we all grimace at the sight of Minho shaking some of the gunge of his hand. He looked at the cylinder and rubs his thumb along the front like he is trying to clean it.

‘What the hell is that?’ Thomas asks.

‘Interesting.’ Minho mumbles to himself.

‘What is it?’ I say walking up to him. He shows me the cylinder which has a number 7 on a little panel and W|C|K|D 9643021 on it in black lettering. WICKED?? The same people that put us here, made the Grievers? That doesn’t make sense.

‘Okay, whatever it is... can we take this up back at the Glade? Because I don't want to meet this guy's friends.’ Frypan says.

‘He's right.’ I agree. ‘It's getting late.’

‘It was inside a Griever.’ I say as I hand over the cylinder.

‘These are the same letters we get in our supplies.’ Newt notices.

‘Whoever put us here obviously made the Grievers.’ I reply.

‘This is the first real clue, the first anything, you've found in over 3 years. Right, Kira?’ Thomas asks.

‘Right.’ I nod.

‘Newt, we gotta go back out there. Who knows where this might lead us.’ Newt looks at me and nods back. He’s right, I tell him using my eyes.   
I know, I get back. Newt look over to Gally for his opinion.

‘You see what he's trying to do, right? First he breaks our rules... and then he tries to convince us to abandon them totally. The rules are the only thing that have ever held us together. Why now are we questioning that? If Alby was here, you know he'd agree with me.’

I roll my eyes. ‘Don’t you think we know that? I made the bloody rules. And they’ve served us well, but maybe it’s time for a change. They have kept us alive, but stuck here. The first time they’re are broken in 4 years and we a kill a Griever. We find a clue. Gally this is the right call. Why are you so against it?’

Gally’s eyes bore into mine, then they narrow and he looks away.

‘Wow.’ He scoffs and leaves.

‘Gally,’ Frypan tries to stop him but ‘No, Fry,’ is the response he gets.

‘Thanks Kira.’ Thomas looks at me and smiles.

‘We have something to show you.’ I say back before taking off for the map room.

‘Hey, where are we going?’ Thomas calls as we make our way through the forest.

‘You'll see.’ Minho calls back. We reach the room and head inside. I walk round the table and pull of the white sheet protecting the map. Thomas stares at it.

‘It's the maze. All of it.’ I say quietly.

‘What do you mean "all of it"? I thought you were still mapping it.’ Thomas says confused.

‘There's nothing left to map. I've run every inch of it myself. Every cycle. Every pattern. If there was a way out, we would have found it by now.’ Minho states.

‘Why haven't you told anyone this?’

‘It was my call. People needed to believe we had a chance of getting out.’ I hated lying to everyone. ‘But maybe now... we have a real chance. Take a look at this. About a year ago, Minho and the others started exploring these outer sections. They found these numbers printed on the walls. Sections 1 through 8. See, the way it works, is every night, when the maze changes... it opens up a new section. So today, Section 6 was open. Tomorrow, it will be 4, then 8, then 3. The pattern always stays the same.’ I explain.

‘What's so special about 7?’

‘I don't know. But last night, when you killed that Griever... Section 7 was open. I think it must be where it comes from. Tomorrow, we’re gonna take a closer look.’ I say with a smirk. Thomas smiles back at me. Clint and Jeff suddenly appeared in the doorway, seeming out of breath.

‘Hey! What are you guys doing? You're not allowed in here.’ Minho shouts turning his back on the map.

‘Sorry, it's just the…’ Jeff starts.

‘It's the girl.’ Clint finishes.

‘Is she awake?’ Thomas and I look at each other.

‘You could say that.’


	14. Teresa

Chapter 14

We ran out of the woods and towards Chuck, who was laughing so hard he was holding his stomach.

‘Chuck, what's going on?’ I ask quickly.

‘Girls are awesome.’ He says pointing at the tree. The girl was at the top of the tree throwing things down at the guy’s heads.

‘Leave me alone!’ She shouts, throwing something else down.

‘Watch your head!’

‘Hey, throw one more of those things- Ow!’ I laugh as Gally’s hit. I think I’m going to like this girl.

‘Go away!’

‘We come in peace!’

‘What happened?’ Thomas asks Newt who is under a wooden board protecting himself.

‘Just duck!’

‘I don't think she likes us very much.’ Newt says with a laugh.

‘What do you want from me?’ She calls down.

‘We just wanna talk.’ Thomas shouts up to her.

‘I'm warning you!’ She doesn’t seem to be responding to this.

‘Take cover, y'all! Take cover!’   
  
Walking through the crown of boys I shout up ‘HEY!’ Everything goes silent. I watch as her head pops over the side. I wave a little. ‘Can we talk, girl to girl?’ She says nothing but she doesn’t throw anything else. ‘I’ll take that as a yes.’ I say to myself before walking to the bottom of the first ladder. ‘Go back to whatever you were doing.’ I say to the boys. Thomas looks hesitant. ‘I’ll come find you later.’ He nods and leaves with the others.

When I make it to the top, I push up the hatch and see the girl pointing a knife at me. She looks at me with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

‘Do you know how to use that?’ I say nodding to the knife. Looking at it she shakes her head. ‘Then don’t point it at people.’ I say quietly, pushing it away from me. She puts it down beside her.

‘Where am I? What is this place? Why can't I remember anything?’ She pelts one question after another. I can see why her and Thomas would get along.

I smile kindly at her. ‘We call this the Glade. Nobody can remember anything when they first get here. We get our names in a few days.’

‘Teresa.’

Or now. ‘Okay, Teresa, nice name. I’m Kira.’ No-body gets their name back right away. No-one in over 4 years has ever known it as soon as they showed up. Why is she different?

‘Why are we the only girls?’ She interrupts the thoughts flying through my brain.

I smile at her. ‘I don’t know. I was the first Glader here, and you apparently are the last. Maybe that has something to do with it.’

‘Hm, ’she nods. I’m not sure she agrees with my theory but doesn’t throw up any others so… ‘So, no-one remembers anything.’

‘Nope, nothing of our lives before we woke up in the Box.’ I wasn’t sure whether to tell her about my dreams. I don’t really know her, but I get the feeling she remembers something.

‘Sorry I freaked out.’ She whispers.

I chuckle. ‘I think if I woke up in a room with Clint and Jeff staring at me, and no memories, I’d freak out too.’ She chuckles along with me.

‘Clint and Jeff, your doctors.’

‘Medics, yeah. Then we have Gally – you hit him on the head, with a piece of fruit.’ I full on laughed this time. ‘Oh, his face.’ I wipe a fake tear from my eye. ‘Then we have Newt – he’s our second in command, he was hidden under a wooden board, Chuck – the kid who was laughing over there, Frypan - our cook who now thinks all girls are crazy, having only met you and I,’ I pause to see how she is taking this all in. She is looking out at the Glade having shuffled forward so she can stick her legs over the edge. ‘Thomas,’ I look at her to see her reaction. A look of recognition is on her face; so she does remember him. Called it! ‘You were saying his name in your sleep.’ She looks down at her lap. ‘When you came up in the box, you had this in your hand.’ I passed her the piece of paper, Newt had given me.

‘” _She’s the last one – ever_.” What does that mean?’

‘We don’t know, but ever since you came up, the Box hasn’t gone back down. That’s how we get supplies. Everyone is a little worried about what happens if doesn’t go back down again. How long we will last. Especially Gally.’ I look over at him to see him staring at us. I wave; he ignores this and turns back to building.

‘He thinks it’s my fault.’ Yes, he does. I’m not telling her that though.

‘Gally’s really got into blaming people recently. If it isn’t you then it’s me and Thomas.’ I look at Teresa and decide if I’m going to tell her, Thomas needs to be here. I’m not going to repeat myself and Thomas will want to know. ‘Do you mind if he comes up?’

‘Gally?’ She looks at me confused.

I smile. ‘Thomas.’ I reiterate. She hesitates a minute before shaking her head. I nod.

‘Chuck,’ I get the small boys attention. ‘Can you find Thomas for me?’ He nods and runs off.

‘So are you in charge around here?’ She says curiously.

‘Yep, since I was the first person here, it kinda put me in the position of power when the others started popping up.’

‘Popping up?’ she looked at me curiously. I smirked at her confusion.

‘We all came up in the box. That’s that crate thing over there. You came up in it too, you were just, unconscious. For the first month it was just me, then Alby came up, then the others. Once a month for 4 years.’

‘You’ve been here 4 years?’ She looked amazed.

‘Yeah, but you came just at the right time. Things are changing round here. We think were onto a way out.’ Hopefully.

‘Really?’

I nod excitedly.

‘Hey, it’s Thomas. Can I come up?’

I look down below us and see Thomas standing there wringing his hands, looking pretty nervous. I beckon him up and he starts climbing. We wait patiently for him to get to the top. Once his head pops through the floor, I say,   
‘I’ll leave you alone in a minute. Seems like you two need to talk. But I know your both lying about not remembering anything,’ Here we go. ‘…because I am too.’ This revelation felt like a weight of my shoulders. Thomas sat on the floor looking at me with wide eyes, waiting for me to go on.   
‘Remember the first day you got here. Gally did the intro.’ He nods to show me he remembers. ‘Well it was supposed to be me, but I slept in. I was having a dream. I was lying on a… table of sorts. There were people in white masks standing above me. There was a woman she said “ _sleep now Kira. You’ll want to reserve your strength. Phase One. Group A. Test Subject One. Kira.”_ ’ They look at me with a mixture of surprise and recognition.   
‘I’ve had several since. Sometimes I get the feeling of drowning. Sometimes I get sharp pains. But that woman, she’s always there, whispering in my ear over and over again, “ _Remember Kira,_ _WICKED is good_.”’

‘Mine are similar,’ Thomas says. ‘She’s there in mine too, “ _WICKED is good.”_ Over and over again.’

‘Mine too,’ Teresa said.

‘Why are we different?’ I ask them. They both shrug their shoulders.

Teresa reaches into her pocket and pulls out 3 metallic test tubes. ‘There were in my pocket when I came up.’ She handed the tubes to me. I roll them in my hands. Tubes? What could be in them? ‘What if we were sent here for a reason?’ Teresa asked looking at me, as if I had all the answers.

‘I don’t know about me, but you two maybe.’ I look up at Thomas and show him one of the tubes. A sudden realisation comes to me. ‘Alby! You two! Stay here. Talk!’

‘We don’t even know what this stuff is. We don't know who sent it. Or why it came up with her. For all we know, this thing could kill him.’ Newt exclaims, obviously not convinced.

‘He's already dying. Look at him. How could this possibly make it any worse?’ I say. I stand in front of him and maintain eye contact imploring him to see sense. ‘Please,’ I beg.

‘Come on, it's worth a try.’ Jeff says to Newt shrugging his shoulders. Yes Jeff!

Newt sighs and nods. ‘All right. Do it.’ I give him a swift hug and walk up to Alby’s side. I place my hand on his chest trying to decide where to stick the syringe.

‘Okay,’ I whisper deciding to go for the heart. I take a deep breath and lift up the syringe. I bring it down in a smooth motion when aiming directly for his heart when Alby jerks up and grabs my shirt.

‘We can’t go back! We can’t go back!’ He screams shaking me. The syringe flies out of my hand and onto the floor.

‘No. Alby. Stop. Get off!’ I shouted.

‘No!’ Newt shouts running forward to try and separate us.

‘Watch out!’ Jeff yells.

‘Get the syringe! Let go!’ I scream as my head starts to hurt. Newt picks up the fallen syringe and stabs it in Alby’s chest. As soon as the plunger goes down, Alby stops, let’s go of my shirt and calms. His hands soon fall limp and let go; I scrabble away to the other side of the hut getting as far away as possible. Taking a deep breath trying to steady my beating heart, I turn to see Newt looking at me. I nod to tell him I’m okay but breathe out a shaky breath which he notices.

‘Well, that worked.’ Jeff says optimistically.

‘Okay, from now on... someone stays here and watches him around the clock.’ Newt commands Jeff. Seeing that this conversation is over, I leave the med- tent. When I am far enough away, I lean against the closest hut and take a few deep breaths. I’ve never seen Alby like that. He never uses his strength against me. Looking up, I see Gally escorting Thomas to the pit. I follow them; I need to talk to Thomas.

‘Gally… you know we can’t stay here forever, right?’ I hear Thomas question Gally. He doesn’t answer, just glares and walks away. Gally passes me and his glare softens slightly when he sees my rumpled state, but not completely. I don’t like fighting with Gally, but he doesn’t seem to be the same person he was before. He seems… hard, almost cold. I sigh and slump down beside Thomas’ cell door.

‘Hey, did it work?’ Thomas uttered quietly.

I nod and turn to look at him. A smile has worked its way onto his face. However when he sees the state I’m in, his smile dims.

‘What happened?’ He asks.

‘I was gonna to stick it in, but he woke up and grabbed me. He was screaming! _“We can’t go back!”_ He shook me so hard I am definitely going to have a headache tomorrow. His eyes though…’ I pause taking a deep breath. ‘They were so scared Tommy. He was terrified. But I don’t know what of. I never seen him like that before. Not in the 4 years we’ve known each other. What if … what if getting out of here puts us someplace worse? What if that’s what he meant? We can’t go back… to where we came from?’

Thomas looked at his lap. ‘Have you changed your mind about wanting to find a way out?’

‘No,’ I say quickly. ‘I just want to be prepared, for it not to be everything we want it too.’ I had had my doubts before, but seeing Alby like that had really shaken me. A crack from next to me startles us both. Chuck walks up with handfuls of food.

‘Thought you might be hungry.’ He said. He looked at me guiltily. ‘I know a night in the pit means no food, but he’s running tomorrow.’ I smile at the boy’s forethought.

I get up. ‘I didn’t see anything.’ I smirk at the pair, tap Chuck on the shoulder and leave, to get my own food. I see Teresa standing over by one side, looking unsure over the vast number of boys. I walk over to her.

‘Hey,’ I speak quietly so I don’t startle her. She looks over to me with a small smile. ‘Hungry?’ She nods slowly. I take her wrist gently and lead her over to where Fry is unloading food onto people’s plates. ‘Hey Fry,’ I grab 2 plates and put them in front of him. Fry smiles and starts to slop food onto the tray.

‘You gave us all a bit of a scare there, you know,’ He states to Teresa. She smiles, obviously embarrassed.

‘Guess I freaked out a bit.’ She answers smirking.

‘I’ll say,’ laughing Fry handing her, her plate. ‘Although between you and me, seeing Gally get hit on the head was hilarious.’ His over-the-top mock whisper made the boys in the surrounding vicinity chuckle at the memory. Thanking Fry we walk over to a bench and sit down.

‘They’ll get used to you.’ I whisper to Teresa. ‘I’ve been the only girl for such a long time that most of them probably forgot that other girls existed. It’s just a bit weird for them.’

‘Didn’t make a great first impression though did I?’ She sighs.

I shake my head fervently. ‘No, you made a great first impression.’ Her head snaps to look at me.

‘What?’

‘You forget, they’re a bunch of guys. You made them laugh, that’s a pretty good impression from where I’m standing.’

Her brows burrow. ‘Really?’

‘Yeah, one thing you come to learn living here. Guys… are weird.’

A loud giggle makes me turn and look at Teresa. She is clutching her stomach and tears are beginning to stream down the side of her face. Watching her try to catch her breath, makes me start to laugh and soon we are leaning into each other’s sides crying with laughter.

This is what I needed, to get my mind off Alby. I lean my head on the table in front of us taking more deep breaths, trying to get my breathing back to normal as Newt walks up. I sober up enough to look up at him, but I can already feel a smirk pulling its way onto my face. Beside me I can hear Teresa starting to giggle quietly again.

‘Alright?’ Newt says, staring at us as if were mad. I look over to Teresa and catch her eye. Before I know it, we’re gone again, howling with uncontrollable laughter, gripping each other to stop ourselves from falling off the bench. Tears blur my vision but I can imagine what the boys look like right now. Newt’s footsteps quickly move away from us, leaving us to try and pull ourselves together.

After a few minutes more, Teresa and I have managed to calm down enough than we can from words again. My sides ache from laughing so hard and my cheeks are clammy from tears.

‘I have not laughed that much since Alby fell in the pile of manure and had to walk across the Glade covered in it!’ I took a deep breath trying to get my heartbeat back to normal.

Teresa chuckled. ‘That’s a picture.’ Oh God, it was. I can see him now, walking over to the water, with a huge scowl on his face.

I nodded, laughing again. ‘It’s nice to talk to another girl. I haven’t ever had that before.’

‘Me neither. Well not that we would remember if we had!’

I grin. ‘No I suppose not.’

‘Is it safe to approach?’ We turn in the direction of the question. The boys are all looking at us. Newt and Minho stand at the front looking perplexed.   
I look at Teresa and nod to the boys. Newt and Minho sit opposite us, still looking confused.

‘What was that about?’ Minho asks.

‘No idea.’ I say. ‘It kinda just happened.’ I shrug at the boys. ‘Shit.’ Looking back at Teresa I realise that no-one but Thomas and I know Teresa’s name. ‘We haven’t told them your name. Guys, this is Teresa.’ She leans across the table and shakes the guy’s hands. Oooh, how formal.

‘Nice to meet you Teresa.’ Newt says. ‘Can I have a word?’ I nod and get up from the table. We walk a few feet away from the bench so the others can’t hear us. ‘You given her the Greenie welcome speech yet?’ I shake my head.

‘It’s Alby’s turn. It hadn’t even occurred to me.’ I look at Newt, a plan forming in my mind. ‘You know it right?’ He stares with shock.

‘Me?’

I nod. ‘You’re our second in command. Alby can’t do it right now so you need to.’

He looked down at the ground for a minute seemingly considering his options. ‘Yeah, I know it.’

I smile. ‘Right then, you give the welcome speech to Teresa, make sure she’s okay; I’ll set up a bed for her up in my room and… then we’ll talk.’ Our eyes meet when I say this. ‘Okay?’ I whisper.

Newt nods, putting his hand on my arm for a second. I beam at the contact. He smirks and then leaves, getting Teresa to follow him.

And breathe. I let out the deep breath I was holding. I seem to be doing that a lot recently. Bed first, then talk. Walking over to the homestead, I pass Chuck.

‘You okay?’ I ask noticing the redness in his eyes. Has he been crying? He stops and looks at me.

‘I am now.’ He says quietly. ‘Were going to get out, and I’m going to see my parents again.’ I grin at his newfound faith.

‘Yeah, you are. And you’re going to give them that owl carving.’ I point at the small wooden owl clutched in Chuck’s hand. He nods stuffing it back into his trouser pocket. He gins back at me. I lean my hand on his shoulder and begin to head off again.

As I finish laying out the sheet on the extra bed, a knock interrupts the silence. Oh no, its happening. The talk. Is he gonna be angry? Disappointed? Fuck, I dunno.

‘Come in,’ I call nervously. Newt enters, face matching mine. He’s nervous too.

‘Hey,’ I smile up at him sitting on Teresa’s new bed.

‘Hey,’ He replies sitting down opposite me on my bed.

‘She alright?’

Newt nods. ‘Yeah, she sure asks a lot of questions though.’ He chuckles.

I smirk. ‘Yeah the newer ones do that!’ We both laugh, to cover the awkward silence surrounding us.

‘So,’ Newt begins.

‘So,’ I copy enjoying the mocking glare that follows. ‘You said we should talk. So talk.’

Newt takes a deep breath. ‘You should have left him.’ He says quietly.

If I hadn’t known he would say this, it would have shocked me. Newt and Alby were close. Brothers. But Newt hadn’t known, at that point, about the cure Teresa had brought up. At that moment in time, I risked my life for someone who was going to die anyway. And that was what he was angry about.

‘I know.’ I replied. ‘You get why I didn’t though right.’ Newt nods slowly.

‘You didn’t know we could save him! When you stayed in the maze overnight, a fate (may I add) that no one has ever survived, you didn’t know!’ I sigh, keeping quiet. He needs to get this out. ‘You could have died out there! You probably would’ve without Thomas.’ He was right, I wouldn’t have been able to pull Alby up into those vines alone. ‘How could you do that? How could you leave us like that?’ His unspoken words were clear. _“How could you leave me like that?”_ He stared at me needing an answer.

‘I couldn’t leave him,’ is all I say in response. ‘You know that.’

Newt sighs and sits down again. I hadn’t even realised he gotten up. ‘It was so bloody stupid. You survived by pure fluke.’ I nod again.

‘I’d have done the same for you, you know.’ I whisper quietly. ‘If you were hurt and unconscious, I wouldn’t leave you.’ Newt stares before looking down at his lap. I knew that he would do the same. ‘I knew you could lead. You and Minho could have managed. Probably better than Alby and I. I trusted you to be able to do that. That’s why I told Minho to not let you in. To hold you back if necessary.’

‘I could’ve helped.’ He interrupted.

‘I know, but if we had both been in there, we would’ve died. We would’ve been too busy worrying about each other to actually see clearly. You know that! I was able to focus in there because I knew you were safe.’ I grab his chin and tilt his head up so he is looking at me. After a moment, he sighs and nods.

‘Yeah I know.’

‘I get why you’re angry at me, but if we want to get out of here alive, we can’t get annoyed at each other for putting ourselves in danger. We live, constantly, in danger! There’s going to be much worse than Grievers ahead, I can feel it.’ I take his hands and start to play with his fingers. Newt sighs one last time and leans his forehead against mine. I can feel his soft breaths on my cheek.

‘We look out for each other.’ He mutters so gently I almost don’t hear him. I nod as much as I can whilst still keeping contact. This feels almost intimate. More than we have ever been before.

Another knock at the door interrupts our moment. I grunt in frustration as Newt mumbles, ‘Oh, bloody hell!’ I chuckle softly at his reaction as I stand up and move towards the door. On the other side is Chuck and Teresa.

‘Hey guys,’ I say. Chucks eyes flick between Newt and I, and an embarrassed sheen lights up his face. Teresa however looks between us and grins maniacally. Oh fuck.

‘Sorry,’ Chuck groans, ‘It’s just, it’s getting late and we’re all going to sleep and I assumed Teresa would sleep in your room, so I brought her up here to show her where to go but I didn’t realise that you and Newt were talking and…’

‘Chuck,’ I say to stop the poor boys ramblings. ‘Its fine, we were almost done.’ I look back at Newt and he smiles a tight smile.

‘Yeah,’ Newt agrees coming to my side. ‘I have to go and check on Alby anyway. I’ll see you girls tomorrow, c’mon Chuck.’ As the boys leave, I think about our moment and smile.


	15. Section 7

Chapter 15

A light knock on the door alerts me to Minho’s presence. I tip-toe over to the door, looking back to make sure Teresa is still asleep. No reason to wake her early on her first official morning. Closing the door behind me, I put a finger up to my lips telling Minho to keep quiet. Once we are away from my room, I turn and say, ‘Shall we free Thomas from the doghouse?’

Minho laughs and nods and we head over to the pit. As we walk, I think about Newt. Our talk last night ended before we had finished. Who knows what could have happened. Maybe nothing. But it could have been something! That thought sends a shiver through my spine.

‘So,’ Minho started. I look at him, waiting for him to continue. He doesn’t. He just looks at me.

‘What?’ I reply. One eyebrow raises as if I should know what he is talking about.

‘I was told something very interesting last night.’ He finally continues.

I furrow my brows. ‘Right?’

‘Chuck said that he interrupted you and Newt. Together. In your bedroom.’ I roll my eyes. Talk about dramatic.

‘We were talking.’ I say, sighing sharply at his nosiness.

‘Uh huh. That’s not what Chuck said.’ He states, looking at me again with raised eyebrows.

‘Well I don’t know what Chuck said but we were just talking.’ I finish before increasing my walking speed towards the pit. Minho speeds up as well to stay parallel with me.

‘Well Chuck said that you were acting shifty.’ Minho announces as if this is a grand piece of evidence that proves Newt and I were doing more than talking. I stop walking and look at him.

‘Shifty.’ I utter. ‘Nice one, Minho. You cracked the case!’ I mock. ‘Seriously?’

Minho just keeps his eyebrows raised. With a sigh he says, ‘Well okay, if you don’t want to tell me I won’t pry.’

‘Hmph, that’ll be the day.’ I scoff. As we reach the pit gate, I see Thomas leaning against the wall, obviously anxious to escape the slammer.

‘Big day, Greenie.’ Minho calls grabbing Thomas’ attention. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to sit this one out?’ I giggle as Thomas breaks into a smirk.

‘Come on, man. Get me out of here.’

We chuckle as Minho opens the gate. Thomas climbs out of the pit with ease and stands next to us.

‘So where we going today?’ Thomas asks excitedly. I smile at his enthusiasm. He’s practically bouncing.

‘We’ll need to sort you out with a vest and pack first.’ I say lightly. ‘Then we’ll decide where to go.’

Minho stands over the map, trying to decide where would be the best place to go, whilst I fit Tommy with his vest.

‘Feel okay?’ I ask, slightly adjusting the straps to fit him better. He nods, excitedly, brushing his hands over the vest. ‘Getting real now, huh?’ I smirk at him.

‘Yeah,’ he whispers to himself more than to me.

Minho eventually decides to go to section 4 via the inner ring; this meant we could show Thomas the numbers on the walls of the other unopened sections.

We stand outside of the wall, waiting for it to open. I look at Tommy to see him tapping his foot. ‘Nervous?’ I ask Tommy lightly. He grins at me.

‘Little bit.’

‘Don’t be. You’ve done it before. This time its daytime and you have Minho and I to watch your back.’

Thomas smiles at the pair of us as the groaning of the wall starts. We line up next to each other, preparing ourselves to run. As the doors open fully, we smirk at each other.

‘Let's go!’ I say before sprinting off into the maze. Tommy and Minho’s footsteps follow quickly behind. The excitement of finding a way out spurs us all on, moving faster and faster.

‘This way.’ Minho calls, running past me. ‘Not much further to the inner ring.’ We fly past 3, then 2, 1, and 8. As we go to pass section 7, Minho and I stop dead. We look at each other with matching looks of confusion.

Thomas, having noticed our looks asks, ‘What?’

I turn to look at Thomas. ‘This is Section 7. Where we think the griever I killed came from. It’s open. Seven is not supposed to be open for another week. In all the time we have been monitoring these outer sections they have never broken pattern. Ever. Now 7 is open a week earlier than planned.’

‘Should we take a look?’ Thomas asks me.

I look at Minho who shrugs. I take a deep breath and nod. ‘Yeah we will. Maybe something new has shown up?’ We begin to jog into section seven and pause when Tommy asks, ‘What the hell is this place?’

Large metal sheets rise from the ground, in rows, some facing vertically and some facing horizontally.

‘We call them blades.’ Minho answers. We continue to jog through the blades trying to keep in a semi-straight line. It’s so easy to get lost in these things. Behind me Minho is explaining how we found the blades originally. I begin to tune out the story as I notice something on the floor ahead of me. A pack. And a blood-soaked vest top. I stop jogging and begin to walk slowly up to it. Minho also stops, finally seeing what I have seen.

I sigh. Poor Ben.

‘It's Ben's, isn't it?’ Thomas whispers as Minho picks up the vest with two fingers.

‘Yeah.’ He sighs, placing the vest gently, back down on the floor.

‘A Griever must have pulled him down here.’ I say standing up, and looking away.

As Thomas and Minho stand up, a small noise catches my attention. It sounds almost like… a machine beginning to work. I look at the boys to see if they hear it too. They are looking at each other obviously trying to find the source as well.

I walk over to Minho and spin him round so his back is facing me.

‘Whoa, hey!’ Minho yelps at the action. I reach into his pack and pull out the cylinder. It’s whirring and clicking, a different pattern each way I turn. I walk away from the boys in one direction and the clicking slows. Not that way then, I think. I turn a 180 and begin walking the other way. The clicking speeds up to a pace so fast it’s almost one continuous noise. I turn to the boys with a smirk; ‘I think it's showing us the way.’ I turn back and hurriedly walk in a straight line forward. I can hear the boys behind me, but only just. My heart rate is so fast now I almost can’t breathe. This could be it. We could have found our way out. I could skip with excitement. But I won’t. Gotta keep a cool façade in front of the boys.

Were almost running now. Trying to figure out where the cylinder is taking us. Passing the blades, one by one, keeping my eyes firmly on the object still resting in my hands. As I am about to pass the next blade, the clicking slows again. ‘Wait, wait, wait.’ I say putting my hand out to stop the boys.

‘What, what?’ Minho asks, anxiously, glancing around to try and see what may have caused me to stop. I turn slowly on the spot until I’m facing a different direction. The clicking speeds up again, making me smile. ‘This way. Come on.’ After walking for another 5-10 minutes we reach a gap in the wall were following. Inside is a stone walkway surrounded on either side by a huge drop. I peer over the side. ‘I can’t even see the bottom.’ I look at Minho and Thomas, their faces mirror my own, confusion and excitement.

‘Minho, you ever see this place before?’ Thomas asks. His voice echoes in the huge space we are in.

‘No.’ Minho shakes his head in disbelief. At the bottom of the walkway is a door. With no handle. ‘Ahhh.’ He groans. ‘It's just another dead end.’ As I get closer to the door, the cylinder suddenly makes a high pitched noise and the light and the number change from red to green.

‘Guys…’ I begin, when an unlocking sound comes from the door. Thomas and Minho spin around to stare at it. My breathing accelerates and the door rises up into the ceiling. Behind it two more doors are also rising, to show a circular panel at the far end. This too opens up revealing a dark tunnel.

‘Are you sure about this?’ Minho says to me.

‘Nope.’ I say pushing forward past the door. Beside me they guys walk slowly trying to keep watch for anything dangerous. As we reach the tunnel, Minho wipes his hand over the entrance. He pulls it back and shows us. It’s covered with Griever slime! We need to get out of here.

‘Grievers.’ Minho confirms my suspicions. Suddenly a red light appears in the tunnel and forms a laser, which starts to scan us.

‘What the hell was that?’ Thomas breathes. A loud noise startles us. It sound like when the walls are shutting at the glade.

‘We gotta get out of here.’ I say out loud this time. We turn and run as fast as we can out of the hallway.

‘Give me the key, give me the key!’ Minho shouts at me. I toss it at him, which he catches and stuffs it into his pack. ‘Move, move!’ We make it out of the hallway only to see that the blades are shutting too. Closing up to form walls that will trap us here.

‘We gotta go! Run, Thomas! We're gonna get trapped! Go! Go!’ We run towards the blades trying to find a way through that can take us back to the inner circle. We weave in and out of the closing blades trying not to get separated. My blood is pounding in my ears, my legs screaming form the pressure.

‘Go, go, go!’ Minho screams at us trying to get us to run faster. My ankle burns at the constant pummelling against the ground. We start to run straight down the blades trying to get into the next one along when we can. I’m right behind Minho, but I can’t see Thomas!

‘Thomas!’ I shout, still keeping pace with Minho.

‘Kira! Minho!’ Thomas voice comes from next to us, behind the next row of blades, which are now shutting. If he doesn’t get through, he’s going to be trapped!

‘Thomas, get in here!’ I scream.

I hear can hear Thomas panting and grunting trying to run faster than the blades are shutting. With one final cry he appears in front of us, having slipped through. I grab his hand and pull him along.

‘Come on!’ Minho cries as we slide round the corner into the main circle. We did it! Still running we begin to slow as we reach and open space in the circle. Spurts of dust, interrupt our celebrations as the floor starts to move.

‘What the fuck!’ I scream as the floor a few meters in front of me rises up. Thomas grabs my hand pulling me back from the edge. Picking up the pace again we pelt down the circle with sections of floor moving all over the place and sections of the wall falling down behind us.

‘Let's go, let's go!’

‘Come on, move!’

‘Keep going!’

‘Keep going! Let's go!’ Hurried shouts fill my ears, some even coming from myself.

‘Whoa!’

‘Go, go, go!’ A section of wall in front of us unhooks itself from the rest and starts to fall.

‘Oh, shit!’ Thomas yells, once again grabbing my hand, pulling me to go faster and faster.

‘There!’ Minho points. A small section of wall is rising from the floor, and on the other side we can see the vine covered walls of the inner maze. We rush towards it throwing ourselves over the top. As I’m the smallest I am able to scuttle through the ever tightening space first. Spinning round I see Minho and Thomas crawling through the gap.

‘Faster,’ I scream. Minho reaches the end first toppling off the wall and landing on the floor hard. Thomas follows a few seconds later with a shout. I lean back against the wall with relief. Minho and Thomas lie on the floor, all of us breathing harder than we have ever breathed in our lives. I catch Minho’s eye. A smile grows on both our faces. I start to chuckle first. Minho and Thomas join in soon after. Soon enough the three us of are full on laughing at the sheer closeness of that run.

Running out of the maze, we are met with the older Gladers and Chuck.

‘What the hell's going on out there?’ Newt says to me. I smile and take his hand, pulling him and consequently the rest of the Gladers away from the maze entrance.

‘What the hell you done now, Thomas?’ Gally jibes. I roll my eyes.

‘Gally,’ I say sternly.

‘We found something, a new passage. We think it could be a way out.’ Thomas tells Newt excitedly. 

‘Really?’ Newt says looking at Minho and I for confirmation.

‘It's true.’ I say squeezing his hand. ‘We opened a door, something we'd never seen before.’

‘I think it must be where the Grievers go during the day.’ Thomas continues. We had come up with this theory on the way back. We took a bit of time to process what we had discovered, as we hadn’t really had time when we found it.

‘Wait! Whoa, whoa, whoa... You're saying you found the Grievers' home? And you want us to go in?’ Chuck interrupts pushing between Thomas and I.

‘Their way in could be our way out, Chuck.’ Thomas says.

‘They have to come from somewhere.’ I agree.

‘Yeah, or there could be a dozen Grievers on the other side. The truth is, Thomas doesn't know what he has done, as usual.’ I could tell Gally’s tormenting was getting to Thomas and he was about to snap. Slipping my hand from Newt’s, I step between Gally and Thomas just as he spins around gaining on Gally. I put my hands on the boy’s chests, separating them. I wouldn’t put it past them to start a full on fight.

‘Yeah, at least I did something, Gally. I mean, what have you done? Aside from hide behind these walls all the time?’ Thomas snaps. I look at Newt, with a small smile on my face. They need to get this out of their system, but I’m not gonna let punches get thrown.

‘Let me tell you something, Greenie. You've been here 3 months, all right? I've been here 3 years!’ Gally surges forward, putting strain on my wrist.

‘Gally!’ I snap.

‘Yeah, you've been here 3 years and you're still here, Gally! What does that tell you? Maybe you should start doing things a little differently.’ Thomas shouts, really starting to lose his temper.

‘Maybe you should be in charge, what about that?’ Gally says trying to get in his face. I push Gally back.

‘He’s right Gally!’ I say, trying to stay calm.

‘Yeah well, you would side with him!’ Gally shouts.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ My breathing is starting to become heavy. I can feel Newt come up behind me and take my hand. My heart rate slows slightly.

‘It means that ever since he got here, you have been all, ‘Thomas this, Thomas that, Oo look how special Thomas is!’’

‘Because, I think he was sent here for a reason! Whoever put us here wanted us to survive; they have seen us do that for 4 years. They want to see something else now! I think they sent him and Teresa here, to help us get out. And to be honest with you Gally, I’ve had enough of this place. I’m done being confined, surrounded by things that want to kill us. That’s not living, Gally! We’re trapped, and we may have actually found a way out and all you’re focusing on, is this bloody feud you have with Thomas.’ I take a deep breath, trying to calm down. Newt puts another hand on my shoulder turning me away from Gally.

‘You need to calm down, Kira. Take a breath.’ Newt whispers to me hurriedly. I take a deep breath, and feel the tension in my shoulders releasing almost instantly.

‘I’m okay. I’m calm. Was I too harsh?’ I ask Newt slowly. He shakes his head.

‘He needed to hear it! It was very diplomatic.’ He teases with a smirk.

I shove his shoulder. ‘Shut up,’ I chuckle. Raising my head, I see Teresa walking towards us.

‘Hey,’ I say smiling at her. ‘You okay?’

‘It's Alby,’ she says quietly. ‘He's awake.’


	16. The Grievers

Chapter 16

‘Has he said anything?’ I ask Teresa as we enter the med tent. Newts hand is still firmly joined in mine. I’m glad for it when I see Alby. He is sitting up, with his feet over the side of the bed; his head in his hands.

‘No.’ Teresa whispers, eyes locked on Alby. I can feel my eyes start to water when I look at him. He looks so sad, so scared. I’ve never seen him like this. I hate it.

‘Alby?’ I try to get his attention. Walking towards him slowly, I can see his chest rising and falling rapidly. His hands are clutching his head, knuckles turning white under the pressure.

‘Alby, are you all right?’ Thomas asks from behind me. I kneel down in front of Alby, reaching up to gently pull his hands away from his face.

‘Hey, Alby.’ He looks up at me slightly and his eyes shine with unshed tears. I squeeze his hands, trying to convey strength through my hands and eyes.

‘Alby, we might have just found a way out of the maze. Do you hear me? We could be getting out of here.’ Thomas continues obviously excited about our news.

‘We can't. We can't leave. They won't let us.’ Alby murmurs. My brow furrows.

‘What are you talking about?’ I ask quietly.

‘I remember, Kira.’ His fingers are massaging mine with anxiety.

‘What do you remember?’ I push.

‘You.’ Me? What is he talking about? I look up at Newt with confusion passed over my face. A commotion was starting outside. Some of the boys were shouting. We all looked over to where the noise was coming from.

‘You were always their favourite, Kira. We never saw you, but they would tell us about you. About how you were going to save the world!’ I look back at Alby and then down at our hands. They thought I was going to save the world! ‘You too.’ He nods to Thomas.

‘Me?’ Thomas questions. Alby nods, his eyes hardening. A lone tear streaks down his cheek. The shouts were getting louder and unfamiliar sounds of distress were coming from the Gladers. What is going on?

‘Why did you do this, Thomas? Why did you do this to us!? Why did you come here?’ Alby’s hands are starting to shake. I grip slightly harder trying to stop my hands from shaking as well as his. Alby rips his hands from mine and grab his head again. With the shouts getting louder still we all run out onto the Glade to see what is happening. Stopping just before the door I take one last look at Alby, seeing tears begin to flow down his cheeks.

Night has set in, and several of the boys are running around with fire torches. Grabbing Winston as he runs past, I ask, ‘Winston, what's going on?’ He looks at me, with a look of terror.

‘It's the doors. They aren't closing.’ What! Our heads all snap up to look at the doors. Just as Winston said, they’re still open. Never in 4 years have the doors not closed. Night is when the Grievers come out. They’ll get in! I run full steam to the door, to see if it’s stuck, or whether it’s just not closing. I run my hands across them; nothing is blocking them, they haven’t even moved! As the others reach the door, a deafening CLANG, makes us all shove our hands over our ears. I turn round to see where the noise has come from, and notice something strange.

‘Oh my god!’ I say, looking up at the opposite wall, to see it opening too. I look at Newt, who instantly grabs my hand.

 **CLANG!** Another noise and the wall to the left is opening as well.

 **CLANG!** There goes the other one! There are now four entrances to the Glade. Four ways for the Grievers to get in!

‘Chuck,’ I say, patting him on the shoulder. ‘Go to the Council Hall and start barricading the doors.’ We were gonna need somewhere strong to hide.

‘Mmm-hmm.’ Chuck makes a quick noise of agreement and runs toward the Council Hall.

‘Winston, you go with him.’ Newt says firmly

‘Got it.’ Winton answers following Chuck.

‘Get the others. Tell them to go to the forest. Go hide, now!’ Gally shouts at some of the other boys.

‘Minho, Thomas, Newt, I want you to grab every weapon you can find. I'll meet you at Council Hall.’ I command, as they run off I round on Teresa.

‘Teresa, you and I are gonna go get Alby, all right? Come on.’ Before we can move however, screams come from the woods. Several Gladers come running out, shouting. Clicking and groaning follows them. Spinning around I look down the path closest to us. At the end, just around the corner, a Griever’s coming into view.

‘All right, everybody hide!’ I yell. I start to run towards the cornfields before realising Teresa isn’t moving. ‘Teresa!’ I grab her arm and pull her along with me.

‘Come on! Run! Run!’ Screams fill my ears as we run through the tall corn. I suddenly realise that our movements are making the corn around us shake and move alerting the Grievers to where we are.

‘Down!’ I shout. ‘Stay down!’ We all drop to the floor, staying perfectly still and silent. The sounds of the remaining Gladers, chills me to the bone. I look at Teresa who is staring back at me, with a face riddled with panic. I nod at her and put my hand on hers. Turning round to look at Zart, I notice a stinger coming up above him.

‘Zart,’ I shout, but I’m too late. The Claw grabs him and pulls him out of the corn.

‘Ahh! Help me!’ He screams, as I stand up and begin to push Teresa to run again.

‘Go! Get to the village!’ One of the other boys shouts. Pushing our way through the corn we reach the other side and run towards Clint and Jeff who are making their way out of the med-tent with Alby.

‘Alby!’ I cry. ‘Are you okay?’

‘What's going on?’ He asks, sounding more like himself than I have heard him in a while.

‘They're here.’ I state gravely.

‘Grievers?’ Clint says quickly. ‘Kira, what do we do?’ Shouts come from behind us in the woods and several Gladers pour out in a wave. 

‘Everybody, run, run!’

‘Jeff, come on, go, go, go!’

‘Everyone, move!’

‘Keep moving!’ Shouts of panic fill the air as we run towards the Council Hall. With an immense amount of agility a Griever jumps in front of us, stopping us in our tracks.

‘Oh, shit!’ Jeff says, gripping Alby trying to keep him stable. Thinking quickly Teresa grabs an oil lamp, from beside us and launches it at the Griever.

‘Ahh!’ She cries as she throws. The lamp smashes against the Griever and the oil spreads on its body and ignites. As the Griever thrashes about trying to put out the flames we rush past, continuing towards the Council Hall.

‘No, Alby!’ Clint’s cries alerts me to the situation. Alby has fallen and it flailing on the ground. Making an instant decision, I jump in front of them shouting, ‘Get behind me!’ I stare at the Griever, trying to get it to go for me, and not Alby.

‘Come on!’ I scream, trying to goad it into attacking. As it jumps to come at me, sharp stakes hit it in the side. I snap my head to see where they came from and see Newt, Thomas and Minho appearing from the woods arms full of weapons.

‘Over here, let's go!’ Clint yells to them. I hold my hand up to Newt as the throws me a machete. Catching it I start to run towards a shouting Chuck.

‘Over here!’ He is beckoning us with his arms, at the door of the Council Hall.

‘Let's go! Come on!’ Thomas cries.

‘Over here, come on!’ Chuck continues as we reach him. We are quickly met by Jak, helping Winston get Alby in.

‘Winston! Get Alby inside. Chuck, get in! Go, go, go!’ I push Thomas and Newt in, in front of me and follow.

‘Lock down the doors!’ Thomas shouts, helping the boys shut and barricade the door.

‘Careful.’ Newt says gripping my waist, as I lose my balance in haste to get away from the door. I turn and look at him giving him a tight smile. The Griever smashes its body against the door trying to get in.

‘Whoa!’ We shout huddling together in the middle of the hall.

‘Stay back, guys.’ I call trying to pulling on the back of Jak’s shirt as he is closest to the door.

It then jumps up onto the roof. I hold my breath as the roof gives slightly at the weight. Please don’t break, I repeat in my head. It moves slowly across the roof, whilst we move to the opposite side of the hall, trying to get as far away as possible. Dust from the roof, keeps falling into the room making the air quite difficult to breathe. Shocking us all the Griever pushes its claw through the roof and pulls away the beam holding it up. The roof falls in at the loss of support and pushes us against the wall and to the floor. I try to see what is on top of me but the air is so dark and mucky, I can’t see. I feel someone grab my shoulders and pull me free, from whatever was trapping my legs. It’s Thomas.

‘Are you okay?’ He asks. I touch my hand to my head, to feel a warm sticky substance. Blood.

‘Is everyone all right?’ I call, ignoring my injury for now.

‘Help! He…’ A boy calls. I run forward to grab his hands, but he is pulled away before I can reach him.

‘No!’ Newt pulls me back from the wall. ‘Keep away from the walls.’

‘Watch out!’ I scream, to another of the Gladers, as another claw flies through the wall. He ducks and rolls away from the Griever, leaving the next closest victim being Chuck.

‘Chuck!’ I scream running forward to pull him away. The Griever sees me running forward and whips me across the body causing me to fly back to the opposite wall.

Pain. That’s all I can focus on. A sharp pain in my left side. It’s probably where the claw caught me. I try to catch what’s happening the room.

‘Chuck, no!’ That’s Thomas

‘Grab him!’ Alby.

‘Help!’

‘Chuck, are you okay?’ That’s Alby too.

‘Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Alby.’

‘Alby! Watch out!’ What’s happening?! I try to pull up my head to see what’s happening, but colours soon swim in front of my eyes, causing me to put it back down.

‘NEWT! Grab him!’

‘No!’ Alby. What happened? Alby.

‘Thomas- Thomas! Don't go out there! No, Thomas, wait! Thomas, wait!’ Arms appear round my shoulders, pulling me up to my feet. I can’t see who it is. But I’m grateful anyway. We make our way out of the hall.

‘Where is everybody?’

‘Who's that over there?’

‘Gally…’ Shit, that was a punch.

‘This is all you, Thomas! Look around!’ I can feel my legs start to give now. I don’t think this is a concussion. I try to look down at where the pain is coming from. I can’t focus. Pulling up my shirt to look at my side, I can see what is causing the pain.

Shit.

Dark veins spread across my side from a deep puncture. I’m stung. I pull my eyes from the hole it turn back to the commotion, and then to the person next to me. It’s Jak. Colours swim in front of my eyes and a loud, deep pounding is filling my ears.

‘Back off, Gally!’

‘It's not Thomas' fault!’

‘You heard what Alby said!’

‘He's one of them!’

‘One of who?’

‘He's one of them, and they sent him here to destroy everything, and now he has! Look around, Thomas! Look around! This is your fault!’

‘Back off, Gally!’

‘This is not Thomas' fault!’

‘What are you talking about? Calm down. ‘

‘They sent him here, and now he's destroyed everything that we've built!’

‘What are you talking about?’

I’m gonna pass out. Dark edges are beginning to form around my vision. I turn towards Jak and motion for him to bring his head down so I can whisper in his ear.

‘Shit! Guys stop. Kira’s stung.’ He shouts, ultimately ending whatever fight was happening. In an instant I can feel Newt beside me, holding my hand. Whilst Minho is lifting my shirt to see the sting. 

‘Alby,’ I whisper to Newt. He looks at me with a look of sorrow. I nod and rest my head on his lap. The blackness around my eyes is closing in now. I look up at Newt as I fall deep into sleep.

‘Thomas!’

**I can see her face. Round, with short dark hair and dark eyes. She’s smiling at me. ‘Kira,’ she says. ‘Sweetheart, are you okay.’ I nod, at the woman.**

**‘Yes,’ I can hear myself saying. ‘I hurt my finger.’ She looks at me kindly, taking my finger in the hand. She lightly kisses it as I lay my head on her lap. She lightly hums as she strokes my hair. That tune. It’s so familiar. A loud bang from downstairs, knocks me out of this peaceful moment. The woman jumps up and runs down the stairs. I race after her. Figures in dark, black clothing are filling the living room.**

**‘Give us the child!’ One of them says.**

**‘No!’ the woman cries. ‘Don’t take my baby.’ One of the figures walks towards me. I don’t like it so run past them and cling to the woman’s legs. She grips my shoulders. The figure walks towards and tries to pull me away.**

**‘No!’ She holds me harder and harder! ‘No! Kira! Kira!’**

**‘Mummy!’ I cry reaching towards the woman. Mummy? She’s my mother. My mother! She pushes the figures away and makes a break for me, punching and kicking, fighting to reach me. I reach my hands out, trying to get her.**

**BANG! Her cries halt instantly. I stare at her as she falls to the floor. Blood pools around her.**

**‘You didn’t have to kill her.’ One of the figures says as they carry me out of the house. Kill her? Dead? She’s dead.**

**_Scene Changes_ **

**I’m in a small room now. A bed pushed in one corner and a table in the middle. A woman is talking to me. Her nametag reads: _Dr Ava Paige._**

**‘We can’t keep you with the other children, Florence. You’ll upset them.’**

**‘My name is Kira!’ I scream at Dr Paige, tears running down my face. ‘I want to go home, take me home now!!!!!’**

**_Scene Changes_ **

**I’m older now. Maybe 9. I’m sat at the table, doing some sort of puzzle.**

**‘I’m done.’ I say to the woman observing me.**

**‘Hmm, she’s faster than the other’s.’ She comments to the man next to her.**

**_Scene Changes_ **

**I’m running now. Feet pounding against the track, pulse racing in my ears. I cross the line and look at Dr Paige. She has a stopwatch in her hand. She shakes her head.**

**‘Faster.’ She says. And off I go.**

**_Scene Changes_ **

**‘And then you put the seeds, in the soil and cover it up. Make sure you water it.’**

**_Scene Changes_ **

**‘And then light it. There you go; fire!’**

**_Scene Changes_ **

**‘Remember Kira, WICKED is good.’**

I feel the hard floor underneath me as I wake. I squint as the bright sunshine hurts my eyes. Holding my hand up to block it, I see Newt, Minho, Jak and Chuck staring at me. I look around to see Thomas passed out in Teresa’s arms. I look up at Newt.

‘Alby?’ He knows what I’m asking. Did it really happen? Is Alby really gone? He looks down at the floor, nodding. I release a shaky breath. Pushing myself up slowly, I try to sort through what I just saw. WICKED killed my mother. They took me, they trained me.

‘Are you okay?’ Newt asks carefully. I look up and with a small smile, nod.

‘You?’ He nods too. I look at Minho, Jak and Chuck. ‘You guys okay?’ They nod as well. I look at Teresa and then at Thomas. ‘What did he do?’

‘Stung himself.’ Teresa said. I nod.

‘To remember.’ I finish.

‘Yeah.’

‘Idiot.’ I comment.

‘Yeah,’ she agrees again. I chuckle, reaching up to touch her shoulder. I look down at Thomas, just in time to see his eyes flicker open.

‘Hey. Are you okay?’ Teresa asks carefully.

‘What the hell were you thinking?’ Chuck snaps sharply. I smile at Chuck’s loyalty.

Sitting up Thomas looks at me. ‘Are you alright?’

‘About as alright as you, I’d imagine.’ I say back looking at him gently.

Turning to the others Thomas continues, ‘What happened?’

‘Yeah, I want to know that too.’ I say, looking up at Newt.

‘Gally has taken control. He said we had a choice. Either join him... or get banished at sundown with you.’

‘And the others agreed to that?’ I ask, confused.

‘Gally has everyone convinced Thomas is the reason all this has happened.’ Teresa says gently looking at Thomas.

‘Well, he's been right so far.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Minho asks.

‘This place... it's not what we thought it was. It's not a prison…’ Thomas begins.

‘It's a test.’ I interrupt. Thomas looks at me and continues.

‘It all started when we were kids.’ He looks at me to see if I have anything to add.

‘They took us from our homes. Well I don’t know about everybody, but’s that how they got me.’

Thomas nods and persists. ‘They would give us these challenges. They were experimenting on us. And then people started disappearing. Every month, one after the other, like clockwork.’

‘They were sending them up into the maze.’ Newt finishes.

‘Yeah, but not all of us.’ Thomas says quietly.

‘What do you mean?’ I look at him, with anticipation.

‘Guys, I'm one of them. The people who put you here, I worked with them. Kira, I was the one who told them to put you in first. I watched you guys for years. The entire time you have been here... I was on the other side of it. So were you.’ He nods at Teresa.

‘What?’ Teresa can barely make out words.

‘Teresa, we did this to them.’

‘No. That can't be true.’ I could tell this was killing her.

‘It is. I saw it.’

‘Why would they send us up if we were with them?’

‘It doesn't matter.’

‘He's right. It doesn't matter. Any of it.’ I say looking at the pair of them imploringly and taking their hands. ‘Because the people we were before the maze don't even exist anymore. WICKED took care of that. But what does matter is who we are now, and what we do... right now.’ 

‘She’s right.’ Newt says. ‘You went into the maze and you found a way out.’

‘Yeah, but if I hadn't, Alby would still be alive.’ Thomas drops him head into his remaining hand.

‘Maybe. But I know that if he were here, he would be telling you the exact same thing. Pick your ass up and finish what you started. Because if we do nothing... then that means Alby died for nothing, and we can't have that.’ Newt said motioning between me and him. I smile at Newt’s passion. I knew he’d be a great leader.

‘Okay- Okay, but we gotta get through Gally first.’ Thomas said sighing and nodding his head.

‘So what do we do?’ Chuck asks looking at me. I smirk at him.

‘I’ve got a few ideas.’

Walking Teresa and I, (and dragging Thomas) to the main maze opening, the Gladers all seemed uncomfortable and confused with what was happening. When they came to get us, Winston helped me out of the pit and held my arm.

‘It’s okay,’ I said to him.

We’re now standing at the entrance with the two poles I noticed earlier. Thomas has been thrown on the ground and Teresa is being restrained. I have two Gladers standing next to me, but neither are touching me.

‘This is such a waste.’ Gally says walking round Thomas.

‘Gally... It doesn't feel right, man.’ Winston says.

‘Yeah, what if Thomas and Kira are right? Maybe they can lead us home.’ Clint chips in agreeing with Winston.

‘We are home. Okay? I don't wanna have to cross any more names off that wall.’

‘Except ours.’ I quip. Gally glares at me to shut up. It doesn’t work. ‘You really think banishing us is gonna solve anything?’

‘No. But this isn't a banishing. It's an offering.’ I knew this, but for the plan to work, I needed to make it look genuine.

The Gladers holding Teresa suddenly started tying her to the pole. ‘What? Wait!’

‘Gally, stop. What are you doing?’ I rush forward but the Gladers either side of me, grab me and hold me back.

‘You really think I'm gonna let Thomas back into the maze after what he has done? Look around you! Look at our Glade! This is the only way. And when the Grievers get what they came here for... everything goes back to the way it was.’

‘Are you listening to this? Why are you all just standing there? He's crazy!’ Teresa cries.

‘You shut up.’ Gally points at her.

‘If you stay here, the Grievers are going to come back. They're gonna come back, and they're gonna keep coming back... until you're all dead!’ I shout, struggling against the Gladers holding me.

‘Shut up! Tie him up! Do you hear me? I said tie him up!’ The boys were obviously hesitant; this is what we were counting on. As the boys pulled Thomas of the ground he found his footing and elbowed one of them in the stomach. He grabbed the pole the Glader was holding and hit the other across the face. One of the Gladers holding me went to help them, leaving the other holding me, square to him. I took my chance and smacked my head back into his face, hard. He let go to deal with his now bloody nose, so I grabbed his machete and ran to Teresa, to cut her free. Minho took his knife and held it to Gally’s neck so he wouldn’t try to help them. Chuck, Newt and Frypan joined us, by the entrance. All this happened in the space of about 10 seconds.

‘You're full of surprises, aren't you?’ Gally said, as Minho walked round him and joined is as well.

‘You don't have to come with us, but we are leaving. Anyone else who wants to come, now is your last chance.’ I say, talking to the other Gladers more than to Gally.

‘Don't listen to her, she's just trying to scare you.’ Gally snarled.

‘No, I'm not trying to scare you. You're already scared. I'm scared. But I'd rather risk my life out there than spend the rest of it in here. We don't belong here. This place isn't our home. We were put here. By WICKED. We were trapped here. At least, out there we have a choice. We can make it out of here. I know that.’ I try to get the rest of the Glade to see sense. ‘I don’t want to leave anyone behind. But I will, if that’s what it takes. Alby died for this. He died so we could get out.’ I can see the boys being swayed. I have one last statement to convince them. ‘Don’t make his death mean nothing.’ I know I am manipulating them, but it’s for their own good. It’s so we can survive together.

Winston comes first, then Clint, Jeff, and others.

‘I'm sorry.’ Clint says as he passes Gally.

‘Gally, it's over. Just come with us.’ Thomas says, once the boys had finished moving.

Gally just shakes his head. ‘Good luck against the Grievers.’ I holster my machete and walk to Gally.

I reach up and give him a kiss on the cheek. ‘You too.’ I whisper before walking back to the entrance of the maze and running inside.


	17. Escape

Chapter 17

Running as a convoy we pass through the maze slower than I would have liked. Thomas and Minho lead the way whilst Newt and I bring up the rear. Chuck has obviously decided to over pack and is battling with the huge backpack he has on. I put my hand on his shoulder as we come to a stop.

‘Give it here.’ I say gently motioning towards the backpack.

Chuck shakes his head fervently. ‘It’s okay, I got it.’

‘Chuck, it’s so big, you’re tripping over it. At least give me some of it. Make it a tad lighter.’ Newt has stopped slightly in front of us, waiting for us to catch up. ‘I’m not moving til you do.’ I say finally.

Chuck sighs but flips the backpack round to his front so he can open it. I do the same with mine and wait for Chuck to empty some of the contents into it. He looks up at me after a minute, handing me his bag so I can see how heavy it is now. Feeling a drastic weight change I nod and hand it back to him. He silently puts it back on and starts to turn a way.

‘Chuck,’ I call him back. ‘Will you hang onto this for me, now you have space?’ I hand him the small device that opens the door. Taking it gently he beams at me and shoves it into a side pocket he can easily reach. I chuckle at him as he runs up to Newt. Throwing my pack on, I follow, noticing that the rest of the group has stopped to hand out the spears. Chuck has moved passed Newt now and is excitedly chatting to Jak about his newfound responsibility. I smile as Newt holds his hand out for me to take. Taking it gently, I rest my head on his shoulder.

‘We’re really doing it.’ I say quietly. ‘We’re really leaving.’ I feel Newt’s head nod against mine as he agrees.

‘Can’t help think about Gally though, can you?’ He whispers, trying not to alert the others to what we were speaking about.

I sigh angrily, ‘Why does he have to be so stubborn. He won’t make through the night.’

‘There’s nothing we can do. He made his decision.’ Newt says firmly obviously as annoyed as I am, though trying not to show it.

I sigh again, dropping my gaze to the ground. Newt wraps his arms round me and kisses the side of my head. Resting it against his chest, I can hear his heart pounding. It’s almost relaxing. Well, as relaxing as you can be inside a giant maze filled with things trying to kill you!

‘Oi, c’mon lovebirds, were moving out.’ Minho’s voice calls across to us, dripping with amusement with every word. We chuckle and separate, but not without giving Minho a mock glare.

‘Everybody, this way!’ He calls, ignoring me with a smirk. I look up, smirking at Newt as we begin running again. Chuck is now up by Jak and Thomas, the weight of his bag no longer holding him back.

We move quicker this time, the excitement finally dawning on people and speeding them up. In no time, we’re running through the blades towards the bridge.

‘Keep it up, guys, we're almost there!’ Thomas calls looking back to see if were okay. I give him a thumbs up and point to the right, making sure he knows where we’re going. He smirks back and veers off towards where I pointed.

Lining up against the wall to the right of the entrance Thomas peers round the corner. His head suddenly whips back around to look at me. I know what this means.

‘Is it a Griever?’ Chuck says quietly looking up at Thomas.

‘Yeah.’ He replies. I walk up from the back.

‘Shit.’ Chuck states.

‘Stay behind us.’ Minho says clapping Chuck on the shoulder.

Teresa smiles. ‘It's okay. Just stick with me.’ She says to him reassuringly.

Thomas looks at me. ‘So how do we do this?’

‘Once we're through, the device will activate and the door will open. We stay close, we stick together... we get through this.’ I say to the group. The line has been abandoned now and we are huddled close. 

‘We get out now... or we die trying.’ Thomas summarises.

‘Wasn’t gonna mention the possibility of death, but whatever gets you going.’ I smirk at Thomas as he rolls his eyes.

‘Ready?’ I say to the group. Several nods and noises of confirmation surround us.

‘Okay,’ I nod at Thomas.

‘All right. Let's go!’ He shouts walking backwards into the middle of the entrance and in view of the Griever. We all follow shouting almost a battle cry as we run onto the bridge towards the Griever. Pointing our spears, knives and machetes towards the Griever we push at it with all our might trying to move it away from the entrance. To get away from the spears it pushes back, knocking a few of us over and moves over to the right towards one edge of the bridge.

‘Push it!’ I scream, brandishing a spear I retrieved from one of the boys who had fallen. I jam my spear forward trying to push the Griever over the edge. Several of the boys including Thomas, Newt, Minho and Jak begin to the same moving forward step by step, slowing pushing it closer and closer. It obviously begins to realise our plan and swipes its tail over us. We all duck to avoid it, but one boy doesn’t react in time. The Griever uses its claw and grips him round him waist. It throws him towards the edge, and before he can grip on he falls into the dark abyss below. The Griever starts to use its sting and begins trying to attack us with it. I push Chuck out the way of the sting and lose my balance. I fall to the floor and begin rolling left and right trying to avoid the sting. Fortunately it jams it so hard that when I roll out the way, it gets stuck in the floor. Newt hurriedly helps me up as Teresa slices at the sting with her machete. The sting flies off and into Chuck’s hands causing the devise to fly out of his pocket and towards the edge.

‘The key!’ He shouts running after it

‘Chuck! Watch the edge!’ Teresa cries, pulling herself up and running after Chuck. Chuck throws himself onto his knees and slides to the edge to grab the key. He manages to grab it but his entire top half is now hanging over the edge. I run over to help Teresa pull him up. We each grab one side of his bag and yank upwards trying to pull him back.

‘We’ve got you, Chuck!’ Teresa shouts not noticing the Grievers crawling up the side of the wall. Chuck on the other hand has definitely noticed these and is frantically trying the get away from them.

‘Pull me up!’ he shouts. Finally getting him to his feet we run towards the other boys who have finally managed to push the original Griever over the side.

‘Come on!’ Teresa shouts.

‘Thomas! Thomas!’ Chuck screams. Along with the Griever I saw before another is now emerging from the other edge of the bridge. Walking backward I try to watch both at the same time whilst Teresa and Chuck alert the others.

‘Chuck?’ I hear Thomas say quickly.

‘We got more coming!’ Chuck screams running past them towards the door.

‘Kira!’ Newt shouts, coming up beside me jamming his spear into the Griever on the left as I focus on the right. The others quickly join us forming a line, giving time for Teresa and Chuck to open the door.

‘Keep it steady, guys!’ Minho shouts. A sharp noise comes from behind us alerting me to the fact that the devise is working.

‘It works!’ Chuck exclaims.

‘Teresa, go!’ Thomas shouts as the pair run into the tunnel at the end. We can’t hold them much longer. They are pushing us further and further back.

‘Don't back down! Keep pushing!’

‘Stay together!’ A blond boy named Jay stands beside me. Forcing his spear into the Griever, it catches hold of it and pulls him forward making him lose his balance.

‘NO!’ I scream as the Griever grabs Jay and throws him over the edge.

‘Watch it!’ Newt yells as I almost lose my footing.

‘Thomas! Kira!’ Teresa shrill voice alerts us to a problem. ‘There's a code! Eight numbers!’ A code? Eight numbers.

‘Any particular numbers!’ I shout back.

‘1 to 8!’ she answers quickly. 

I quickly work through the possibilities in my head. That nearly 1.5 million combinations. No, don’t be stupid. It wouldn’t be random. Eight. Eight. It has to be related to us or it wouldn’t be a test. Glade. Gladers. Maze. Maze. Eight sections of the maze.

‘Eight maze sections. The order.’ I shout at Thomas. Realisation bursts onto his face.

‘What's the sequence?’ Teresa shouts.

‘Seven!’ I scream trying to remember. Normally my memory is great but I’m not usually using it whist being attacked by two huge monsters.

‘One!’

‘Five!’ Minho catches on and joins in. I glace gratefully at him.

‘Two!’

‘Six! ‘

‘Four!’

‘Heads up!’ Newt shouts. Snapping my head back, I see another Griever coming in from the roof. It slides down the walls and drops on top of Minho.

‘Minho!’ I cry, momentarily forgetting about the sequence.

‘Minho!’ Thomas shouts. Minho is using the spear to keep the Griever away from him, but I can see him slowly losing his strength.

‘Oh!’ He groans as The Griever gets closer and closer. ‘Get off of me!’

‘AHHHHH!’ A cry comes from my left as Jeff runs past me and jams a spear right into the Grievers neck. It jumps up releasing Minho but grabbing Jeff.

‘Jeff!’ Winston cries. I grab hold of him to prevent him running forward.

‘What's the sequence?’ Chuck cries as we are forced back into the tiny tunnel at the end.

‘Come on!’ I shout at Winston, who is struggling to cope with Jeff’s demise.

‘Six!’

‘Four! ‘

‘Eight!’

‘Three! You got it?’ Minho shouts.

‘Keep holding!’ I shout. Beside me Newts spear breaks causing him to glance at me is fear.

‘Almost there, come on!’ Suddenly the red light on the panel behind us turns green. The walls that the device raised start to twitch.

‘Back!’ I shout, pushing us further into the tunnel as the Grievers lurch forward to escape the walls with are now dropping down on top of them. One Griever launches itself at us but Thomas throws his spear right into its face stopping it in its path causing the remaining wall to drop onto it squishing its head into the floor.

I turn to look at the others to check if everyone is alright when the entrance to the tunnel closes and the room turns to black.

A squeak alerts us to the door behind us opening up. I walk forward and push it open a bit more. Bright white artificial light streamed into the small tunnel. I turned round to look at the others. Expressions of fear, relief and curiosity all melded into one. Walking out, I come face to face with a wall, it looks almost carved out of stone. Large pipes run along the top of it. As I follow these pipes along with my eyes I see the hall we are in goes on for as long as I can see.

‘One maze to another.’ I quip to Newt as he comes to my side. He chuckles slightly and takes my hand. We begin to walk down the hall hoping to see another way out. After about 2 or 3 minutes of walking we come across a door.

A door with a fucking exit sign above it. I almost laugh at the sheer cheek of these people.

‘Seriously?’ Frypan comments dryly looking at the same sign.

‘Right.’ I answer, raising my eyebrows.

Taking a breath I walk towards the door and push down the handle. 

Yellow flashing lights, that remind me of the box, light the space in front of us. It’s another corridor. Much shorter this time and we can see where it leads. Into what looks like a control room. Eyes flicking to the floor I notice a body. Dressed in a white lab coat, the body is lain on the floor, head propped against a wall. Blood smears litter the wall as well. Walking further in a broken window to the left catches my eye. Two bodies covered in sheets with what looks like bullet wounds in. What’s going on? Minho comes to my side, grimacing at the view. Newt puts his hands on Minho and my shoulders pulling us away.

‘What happened here?’ Winston asks quietly. At Thomas’ feet there is a man in some sort of military uniform, with a gun in his hand. As the others move into the control room, I pick up the gun. Images flicker in my head showing me how to check the magazine. Seeing that it is nearly full, I frown, make sure the safety is on and put it in the back of my trousers. I quickly check his pockets for any clips or extra bullets and sure enough find 2 more clips. Slipping those into my pocket I move to join the others.

Walking into the control room looks like a disaster area. Screens are smashed, bodies litter the floor, and electricity lines have fallen from the ceiling and are sparking. It looks increasingly familiar. 

Newt and Frypan are over at a console on the far right of the room. As I get closer I can see the glade. Our Glade. On their screens.

‘So they were watching us. This whole time.’ Newt states looking at me; I can see the anger brewing under his skin.

‘Hello.’ A video suddenly pops up on screen. The woman from my memories is there. Dr Paige.

‘What did you do?’ I asked Thomas.

‘Pressed this.’ He points to a flashing red button on a workstation.

I stare at him. ‘You saw a flashing red button and you just pressed it.’ He looks at me for a second before he sees a smirk work its way onto my face.

He rolls his eyes. ‘Shut up.’ I chuckle before turning my attention back to the video.

‘My name is Doctor Ava Paige. I'm Director of Operations of the World Catastrophe Killzone Department.’ She looks the same now as she did back then. Blond hair tied in a tight up do. A while lab coat that look slightly more chic than the others around her. You tell she was in charge just by the air of arrogance surrounding her. Just seeing her now made me angry. Newt could obviously sense this as hands came to rest on my shoulders, tightening slightly to let me know he knew.

‘If you're watching this, that means you have successfully completed the Maze Trials. I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you...’ The yellow lights began flashing in the video and the claxon started blaring. The workers in the back got up from the chairs obviously panicking. ‘…but circumstances seem to have prevented it. I'm sure by now, you must all be very confused... angry, everything we've done to you... it was all done for a reason. You won't remember... but the Sun has scorched our world.’

Images of scorched earth, and flaming buildings filled the screen. Entire cities burned to a crisp. I could feel a tear working its way down my face. ‘Billions of lives lost to fire... famine...suffering on a global scale. The fallout was unimaginable. What came after was worse.’ Worse? How could anything be worse than that?

‘We called it the Flare. A deadly virus that attacks the brain. It is violent... unpredictable... incurable. Or so we thought.’ I could see Thomas perk up slightly at this. ‘In time, a new generation emerged that could survive the virus. Suddenly, there was a reason to hope for a cure. But finding it would not be easy. The young would have to be tested, even sacrificed... inside harsh environments... where their brain activity could be studied. All in an effort to understand, what makes them different... what makes you different? You may not realize it... but you're very important.’

Explosions in the background caused me to jump. ‘Unfortunately, your trials have only just begun. As you will no doubt soon discover, not everyone agrees with our methods.’ Military people worked their way and shot everyone; but she just carried on speaking. ‘Progress is slow, people are scared. It may be too late for us... for me... but not for you. The outside world awaits.’ The men in the background were shooting at the window to her office now. ‘Remember...’ she began moving to pull a gun form the table and holding it to her head. ‘Wicked is good.’ A shot was all I heard. I had turned round to avoid having to watch and saw her. Her chair knocked over, and her body on the floor. I walked over slowly ignoring the others. I had to see her face. I had to make sure.

Stepping over the broken glass, and walking round the chair, I finally laid eyes on the person who had done this too us. To me. Right in front of me was the woman, I knew had trained me to survive the maze. I didn’t know how to feel.

Another loud claxon made me jump. Turning back I saw that the others had followed and were stood just outside the room. Beside them a door had just opened up.

‘Is it over?’ Chuck whispered as I walked back over to them. I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how. Everything we knew was the maze. Was each other. This was a whole new ball game for all of us.

‘She said we were important.’ Newt said as I grabbed his hand. ‘What are we supposed to do now?’ I look over at Thomas who seems to be having the same difficulties I am.

‘I don't know.’ He whispers looking at Chuck.

‘Let's get out of here.’ I say firmly, deciding I have had enough of death and destruction for one day.

As we surge forward to leave a voice that I thought I would never hear again says ‘No.’

‘Gally?’ I say turning to look at him. I want to smile and run up to him, but before I do I notice the dark blue veins running up his neck. Thomas begins to move past me but Teresa holds him back.

‘Don't.’ She says quietly.

‘He's been stung.’ I whisper.

‘We can't leave.’ He stutters.

‘But we did. Gally, we did leave. We're out. We're free.’ I say trying to get him to understand. I’ve seen what being stung can do to people. It almost turned sweet and innocent Ben into a murdering psychopath.

‘Free? You think we're free out there? No. No, there's no escape from this place.’

‘Gally, listen to me. You're not thinking straight. You're not. Now, we can help you. Just put down the gun.’ I say holding my hand in front of my face trying to soothe him. My other twitches by my side in case I need to reach for my gun. 

‘I belong to the maze.’ He whispers.

‘Just put down the gun, Gally,’ Thomas calls from behind me.

‘We all do.’ In a matter of seconds, Gally has fired at Thomas and Minho has sent a spear straight through this heart. A stinging sensation in my arm suddenly alerts me to the stream of blood pouring down it onto the floor. My eyes stay locked on Gally’s. He was strong. What did he see to make him act like that?

‘Thomas...’ A quiet whisper comes from behind me. I spin round to see a red stain blooming on Chuck’s shirt.

‘Chuck.’ I say signalling the others that something was wrong. His legs give way from underneath him and Thomas catches him lowering him to the ground. 

‘Oh, shit. Shit.’ Thomas cries as he sees the bullet wound in Chuck’s chest. Throwing myself down next to the pair of them, I see if there is anything we can do. Jak comes up behind me starting to panic.

‘Do something, Kira!’ He cries, tears streaming down his face. I forget how young he is, because of his height.

‘Look at me, look at me!’ Thomas shouts trying to grab his attention as I rip open his shirt to check the wound.

‘Oh, shit!’ I whisper to myself. His blood covers my hands as I press down hard on the wound trying to stop the blood flow. He groans at this. ‘Sorry.’

‘Chuck, look at me, all right? I got you, buddy. Just hang on. It's okay.’ Thomas holds Chuck’s face trying to get him to stay awake. Chuck’s hand fumbles in his pocket taking out the owl carving he made to give to his parents. Tears start to leak down my cheeks as the blood keeps pumping out no matter what I do. He is going to die, and there is nothing I can do about it.

‘Thomas, Thomas...’ Chuck whispers working the owl into his hands. Thomas shakes his head and gives it back.

‘No, Chuck. You're gonna give it to them yourself. Remember, I told you that.’

Chuck then turns to look at me. ‘I’m not gonna get that far, am I?’ I see the resignation in his face, if I lie, I would be lying to someone who already knew the truth. I look up at Thomas through unshed and shake my head. Jak whimpers from behind me. Chuck smiles slightly.

‘Take it.’ He whispers to Thomas again. This time he does. He wraps his hands round Chuck’s.

‘Thank you. Thank you.’ He says faintly. Then he turns to me. ‘Look after them.’

‘Always have.’ I whisper, even though in light of the current situation that doesn’t seem very true.

‘I’ll say hi to Ben and Nick for you. Tell Nick off for being a stupid clunk.’ I giggle in spite of myself; this makes him smile. I nod.

‘Thank you.’

‘Will you sing? I’ve always heard that you sing to the ones that are going to die.’ I nod gently and begin humming the tune I now know my mother used to sing to me. I stroke his hair trying to keep the blood on my hands off his face.

‘No, Chuck, you're gonna get-‘ Jak tries as Chuck finally closes his eyes. The tears are flowing freely now as I get up and wrap myself in Newt’s awaiting arms. Why Chuck?

‘Chuck. Chuck? Hey. Hey, Chuck, come on!’ Thomas’ cries echo throughout the control room.

‘Come on, wake up! Damn it!’ At this I press my face fully into Newt’s chest trying to block out the noise.

‘We made it.’ Thomas whispers. He’s right. We made it out. It’s not fair. ‘Come on!’

‘I'm sorry’, I whisper to the bodies of Chuck and Gally. A bright white light lights up from the end of the corridor opposite us and black silhouettes begin to run towards us. I look up at Newt in confusion, before running towards Gally’s body and shutting his eyes. I have a feeling that once those men reach us we’re not going to get to come back here.

‘God damn it! Damn it!’ Thomas’ cries of agony still echo though the room. Leaning over Chuck I then shut his eyes as well. They deserve that small dignity.

‘Thomas.’ Teresa weakly cries.

‘Chuck! Get up, Chuck! Come on! Chuck!’ The men round us up and begin to push us towards the light. I hold onto Newt tightly as if, if I let go I will lose him forever.

‘Thomas!’ I shout back. ‘Thomas please c’mon!’ Over the shoulder of the man pushing Newt and I, I see more of them dragging Thomas away from Chuck’s body.

Emerging out of the light, we are running on sand. I look around me squinting at the bright sun and the intense heat. It looks like we’re in a desert! In front, the men are ushering us into a helicopter.

‘Wait!’ I shout at the men. ‘You can't just leave them there!’ In response I get another push this time into the helicopter. I sit with my legs crossed next to Newt waiting for Thomas to get in. Once he is, the doors are closed and we take off.

‘You guys all right?’ The guy sat opposite me takes off the bandana covering his mouth.

‘Don't worry. You're safe now.’ Somehow I sincerely doubt that, I say in my head. I do not trust these guys as far as I can throw them. Distracting me from my suspicions we fly over the building we just emerged from to see the maze, and in the centre our glade. Smoke rises up from it, and I’m just able to make out the council hall burning. The reality of everything we had learnt that day finally hit me as I leant back against the wall. Thomas looked at the man, with equal suspicion to mine.

‘Relax, kid. Everything is gonna change.’ He said ominously.

Tell us something we don’t know. As I lean my head against Newt’s shoulder the barrel of the gun in my trousers presses against my back. Thinking about what has happened, I have an awful feeling that Dr Ava Paige was right. This is just the beginning.

3rd POV

Dr Ava Paige walks around a long table of directors, dabbing at the bit of dyed corn starch on her head. Squaring up to the table, she says, ‘I think it's safe to say the Maze Trials were a complete success.’ She relinquishes herself of her jacket and smiles at her audience.

‘I wasn't expecting so many survivors, but... the more the merrier. Thomas continues to surprise and impress. As for Kira… well, we knew what she was capable of before she even went in. She continues to be an impressive leader, however she may become an issue if she goes against us. An undeniable force like that…, well, we’ll see. For now, they seem to have taken the bait. It's too soon to say... but they could be the key to everything. So let's move forward. It's time now to begin Phase Two.


	18. Safe?

Scorch Trials

Chapter 1

The rumblings of the helicopter cause me to wake up from a dreamless sleep. Beside me Newt is still sleeping soundly, obviously so tired that the small amount of turbulence wasn’t enough to rouse him. I smile down at his calm but worn face leaning on my shoulder; he’s obviously slipped down whilst sleeping, I’m sure I was on his shoulder when I fell asleep. Pushing a small piece of hair up to prevent it falling in his eyes I look around the rest the helicopter. Winston and Frypan are over one side consoling Jak whose red eyes seem to have finally stopped crying. Minho, Teresa and Thomas are all sleeping in the left over space. It’s quite cramped, I realise, now I’ve had time to breathe. My chest constrains slightly at the realisation of the enclosed space. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I lean back taking a look at our final passenger. The military man, who ‘rescued’ us from WICKED. His grey eyes bore straight ahead not looking at any of us. Narrowing my eyes, I glare at the man until his gaze turns to mine.

‘Where are we going?’ I say firmly wanting some answers. The others that are awake look at me.

‘Somewhere safe.’ He repeats. It’s the same thing he has said when anyone has asked that question.

‘You’ve said that already.’ I state, fed up with his bullshit.

‘Coz’ that’s where we’re going.’ He says back, with a monotonous tone.

‘But that doesn’t tell us anything. We’ve just seen a video, that basically says nowhere is safe and the world has gone to shit and now you’re saying the complete opposite.’ I glare heatedly at the man. I don’t like him.

‘The video you saw must have been WICKED owned. They’re the bad guys. Bad guys lie.’ The man’s tone has turned almost mocking now.

‘Yes,’ I said finally. ‘I suppose they do.’ Leaning back again, I close my eyes to try and soothe the headache that has been building this whole journey. Something is not right about this. WICKED’s all dead, and the ‘goodies’ just so happen to swoop in just when we were about to leave? Bit of a coincidence. I need to be on high alert with this lot, I decide. A hand suddenly finds its way into my own, squeezing it gently. I smirk as I crack open an eye to see Newt playing with my fingers.

‘Good sleep?’ I ask teasingly.

‘I suppose,’ he grins back. ‘As well as possible after just being rescued from a bloody nightmare and pushed into a helicopter.’

I chuckle. ‘Oh that good!’ Laughing I watch as he draws patterns on my blood stained hands. I sigh quietly.

‘He was brave.’ Newt whispers quietly.

I smile. ‘I still don’t know how you do that.’

‘I told you, I know you better than you know yourself.’

‘He was braver than any of us. He took a bullet for us. For all of us. Gally didn’t know where he was aiming. Could have hit anyone. Chuck made sure it was him.’ I sigh, looking at Jak’s tear stained face and at Thomas’ sleeping form.

‘He was a good kid.’ Newt whispers, ‘Part of me thinks he could be someplace better now.’ I look up in confusion. ‘If this place is what you think it is, and I know what you think it is, we may be in a whole world of shit. Chuck’s better where he is.’ I nod curling into Newt’s side once more. His arm brushes round my waist to rest on my hip, but halfway through this motion his fingers brush the gun hilt poking out the back of my trousers. He looks down at me.

‘Just in case.’ I clarify, as he nods.

‘Alright everybody, were here!’ The pilot shouts from the cockpit. I pear out of the window to see a building below us. It looks small from up here but I can tell that it is massive. More of a compound than anything else. Getting closer my eyes are drawn to the armed presence that stand outside. Are they there for us? Or for something worse? The man opposite me is also looking out the window with a concerned look.

‘Did you see em’,’ he said to the co-pilot.

‘Yeah,’ he replied. ‘A swarm coming from the west.’

‘Shit,’ the man grunts. ‘Were gonna have to move the kids in fast. Set us down as close as possible.’

‘Sure thing.’ The co-pilot agrees, relaying this request to the pilot.

The man looks at us. ‘Wake up your friends, we’re gonna need to move fast.’ Instantly I crawl over to Minho.   
Shaking his shoulder, I say, ‘Minho! Wake up. We’re here.’ Blearily he opens his eyes.

‘What’s going on?’ He grumbles.

‘We’re here. Somethings going on. They say we have to move fast.’ I repeat the information I had heard from the men up front.

‘A swarm?’ He whispers. ‘Of what?’

‘I dunno, but whatever it is, they don’t sound too thrilled about it.’ Thinking back to the men with guns on the ground, I say, ‘They’re armed to the back teeth.’

Minho furrows his eyebrows, ‘What?’ I roll my eyes at his confusion.

‘Lots of guns!’ I simplify. His calm demeanour changes instantly to one of alertness.

‘Kira!’ Newt yells from behind me. The noise in here has gotten so loud, because of the landing, we’re having to shout to hear ourselves. I look at him. On the floor beside him, Thomas is still sleeping! ‘He won’t wake up!’

A loud bang indicated our landing on the sand. The man opens the door shouting, ‘Follow me!’ I push Frypan, Winston and Jak out first, scooting over to Thomas to wake him. Teresa, Minho and Newt look at me.

‘I got him!’ I shout. ‘Go!’ They listen to me and crawl out the helicopter. ‘Thomas!’ I shout shaking his shoulders. ‘Thomas!’ No response. ‘Okay,’ I mutter under my breath, tuning my head to see the man still shouting at me to leave. ‘Desperate times.’ Pulling my hand back, I bring it down against Thomas’ cheek. ‘Thomas!’ I shout. Jerking awake, he shoots up nearly head-butting me.

‘Finally! We gotta go! Come on!’ I scream, yanking his hand pulling him out of the helicopter onto the desert.

‘Let's go! Let's go! We gotta go!’ The man is shouting. Another person with a cloth over their face grabs Thomas to help him down.

‘You all right? You all right?’ He shouts at Thomas, as he bumbles around trying to catch his footing. Another man is pulling me away from the helicopter towards the huge steel doors which cover the entrance to the building. The building itself, is the biggest thing I have ever seen. Made of metal, it looms above us creating a dark shadow, which it lit by two huge spotlight beams from either side of the door. Several other lights create a pathway through the sand towards the entrance. I have never seen anything like it!

‘Thomas! Come on!’ I shout struggling against the man’s grasp.

‘Wait, wait, wait!’ Thomas’ shouts from behind me, make me whip round to see what’s going on. Thomas is legging it back to the helicopter to get something. I can’t see what it is from this distance.

‘Where are you going?’ The man escorting Thomas shouts.

‘We don't have time!’ The guy next to me screams, gripping my arm tighter and tighter.

‘I’M COMING!’ I roar back at him, trying to get him off me.

‘Cranks! We got Cranks!’ A shout from behind me alerts me to the snarling noise coming from over one of the dunes.

‘Gotta move! Not safe out here, kid!’ Several people are running towards us with guns.

‘Got a swarm to the flank!’ Shouts of panic and orders fill the air around us, but they have turned dull. Like I’ve got my hands over my ears. I look down at my hands, noticing they are no longer stained with blood. A smooth, calm voice fills my ears, saying my name over and over, blocking out all the other panic. Looking around I suddenly realise I’m not in the desert anymore. I’m in a dark room.

‘Kira.’ The voice repeats my name again, but this time it seems more substantial, less like an echo and more like…

‘Kira!’ Spinning round, I see Dr Paige. ‘Pay attention.’

‘Sorry ma’am.’ The words fall from my lips, but I’m not saying them. It’s like something else has taken over my body.

‘Try again,’ She says calmly.

My body turns without me telling it too and picks up a gun in front of me. I hadn’t even know it was there. What is going on? A light flicks on at the other end of the room. A small target is placed at the end. I take a deep breath before lining up the shot. The _crack_ of the shot makes me jump, and yet my body doesn’t move. It just fires again, before readjusting and firing once more. Pressing a button by the side of me the target begins to move forward so I can see it properly. Before my eyes it changes from a small round target with a bullseye, to an outline of a human. As it gets closer I can see 3 holes in the paper. Two in the chest, and one in the head.

‘Perfect,’ Dr Paige says beside me, putting her hand on my shoulder. I want to throw her hand off, but my body just stays there, staring at the headshot. ‘Next time, we’ll see how you do with a live subject.’ Live? Subject? She is teaching me to hurt people. To kill people. ‘No!’ I shout, ‘No I won’t do it. I won’t hurt people.’ No-one can hear me. Using all my might, I spin round my head to look at Dr Paige, but it’s not her anymore. It’s a man, with cloth round his face? A rush of sounds suddenly explodes in my ears.

‘Go, kid! Go, go!’

‘Set a perimeter! Hold them back on the right side!’ I’m running. I’m not in the range anymore. I’m back in the desert, running towards the huge building. What was that? Was that a memory?

‘Come on, kids, let's go!’ A hand on my shoulder pulls me from my thoughts. Thomas looks at me with concern.

‘Are you alright?’ he shouts over the noise. Not even knowing where to start, I just shake my head.

‘Let's go! Move it! Come on! Keep moving! Keep moving! Tell him to take off! We're clear!’ Finally making it to the doors, we get pushed inside as the doors close behind us. Turning around I watch as huge bars work their way across the door locking it. The sound of gunfire are now dulled as the noise of a claxon overtakes. Turning again, I take in the huge expanse in front of me. Hundreds of people moving about, not even concerned by the ground of dirty teenagers stood in silence before them. A group of soldiers make their way towards us.

‘Come with us please.’ One of them says. Looking up at them, I work my way to the front.

‘What’s happening out there? What were they?’ I ask. Newt’s hand works its way into mine.

‘Cranks.’ He replies simply.

‘What are cranks?’ Thomas asks from behind me.

‘People infected with the flare.’ He explains with a sigh. ‘Now will you please come with me? We need to get you somewhere safe whilst we deal with them.’ He walks off quickly leaving us to follow, blind as to where we were going. He leads us to a door off one of the main corridors. ‘Stay here til we come and get you.’ Pushing us inside, he closes the door.

‘Hey!’ Thomas yells banging on the door. I feel around for something to turn on the lights. Feeling a small switch on the wall, I push it hoping it is nothing bad. After a moment the ceiling hums and lights turn on. Spinning around to see what it is the room, I stop. Apart from Thomas banging on the door, the rest of us are silent.

‘Thomas,’ I whisper. He turns to look at me, finally catching sight of what we are seeing.

Food.

A huge table filled with all kinds of food, is lain before us. Chicken, Potatoes, Fruits of all kinds, Vegetables, Breads, Rice, Water. Any food I could have imagined, is set out on this table. I’ve never seen so much food in my life. I might cry with happiness right now. Looking over to Frypan, I giggle at the growing smile on his face. The noise catches his attention. He looks back and his smile grows wider. I nod and we all run towards the table, grabbing whatever we can get our hands on, stuffing it into our mouths. I’d like to say I am savouring the flavours, but to be honest the food is going down my throat so fast to make room for more, I just know that together, it tastes good! I look over to Newt, who is smiling and laughing with Winston, to Frypan who is doing the same as me and forcing as much food down as possible, to Thomas, who is eating rice with his bare hands to Teresa, who’s eyes shine with mischief. I stare her down, knowing what she is going to do. Grabbing a handful of the rice in the bowl next to me I prepare myself.

‘Teresa,’ I say. ‘Bring it.’ She laughs at this a pelts some rice straight at my face. Ducking I throw my handful back at her, laughing at the look of surprise on her face at my fast reaction. The rest of the boys see what is happening at join in. In a matter of seconds we have a full on food fight happening. Rice is being thrown left and right, grapes are being catapulted at people faces, and we are all laughing hysterically at Frypan getting hit with a squishy fruit and it splatting all over him.

Moving over to one of the walls, I sit down leaning against some boxes. Newt come over to join me.

‘You okay?’ He says. ‘Tommy said that somethings going on with you.’ I raise an eyebrow. ‘That when you were running in from the helicopter, you’re face went blank. He said you were still moving but it was like you weren’t there. Then you were just, back, but you looked a bit…off.’ I nod.

‘I think I remembered something. Something from before.’ I say, trying to work out how to explain what I had seen.

‘Like what?’ He asks, tilting his head slightly to look at me better.

‘My training. From before I came in the maze. I’d seen a bit before. They tested my stamina, my intelligence, and then taught me how to survive. How to build a fire, and how to grow plants, that kind of thing. I’d thought that was all they taught me. But then I saw this.’ I say pulling the gun from my waistband. ‘I knew how to use it. How to check for bullets, how to turn the safety on and off.’ I touched the safety gently. ‘That’s part of why I picked it up. To see what I knew. `

‘So what, they taught you how to use it?’ Newt says confused.

‘Sort of. This is how we come to what I remembered as we came in. The gunshots must have triggered something.’ I sigh, looking at the gun in my lap. ‘They weren’t just teaching me how to use it. They were teaching me how to kill. Two to the chest, one to the head. Perfect shot every time. I was good too. Never missed.’

‘Why would they teach you how to do that? We didn’t have guns in the maze?’ I shrug.

‘I dunno. I’m asking myself that same question.’

‘Where did you get that?’ Thomas walks over to me, but stops when he sees the gun in my hand.

‘Back at WICKED. Took it off, some soldier.’ I confess, seeing the others walk towards us as well.

‘Why?’ Frypan asks.

‘Seemed like a good idea at the time.’ I shrug.

‘You know to use it?’ Minho asks. I nod, not wanted to explain further. ‘Might be a good idea to keep it on you then. Who knows what’s gonna happen?’ He then walks over to a table close by and lies down on it.

‘It’s just a precaution.’ I say trying to reassure the others.

‘Okay,’ Thomas says, sitting down opposite Newt and I. Teresa nods and comes and sits on my other side. Winston and Frypan look at each other, shrug and settle themselves around us. I look over to Jak.

‘Are you okay with me having this?’ I ask getting up and walking over to him.

‘A gun, shot Chuck,’ is all he says.

‘I promise I’m a good shot. And I’ll use it if necessary.’ I take his hands, looking up at him. His young face is smeared with dirt and sweat. He sighs.

‘I trust you.’ He says, letting go of my hands and sitting by Winston. I smile and sit back down. Leaning against Newt, I look at the group. Catching Tommy’s eye, I smile a bit.

‘Why are we here, do you think?’ Thomas says to me.

‘I dunno. Maybe they are the good guys, and they’re just here to help.’ I don’t want to worry the others with my suspicions.

‘You really believe that?’ He asks furrowing his brows.

‘I don’t know.’

A door clanging alerts us to the entrance of a new face. Straightening up we walk over to him.

‘You kids doing all right? Sorry about all the fuss. We had ourselves a bit of a swarm.’

‘Who are you?’ I say bluntly, not buying his nicey, nicey act.

‘I'm the reason you're all still alive. It's my intention to keep you that way. Now, come with me. We'll get you kids squared away.’ Turning sharply, he walked away. Locking eyes with Thomas, I raise an eyebrow. He shrugs in response. Leading the way, I leave the small room and follow the man. He leads us through an industrial area. Workmen are dotted all over the place, repairing the building by the looks of it. Sparks are flying everywhere, making me slightly on edge.

‘You can call me Mr. Janson. I run this place. For us it is a sanctuary, safe from the horrors of the outside world. You all should think of it as a way station. Kind of a home between homes. Watch yourselves.’ Mr Janson nods towards a man on a ladder by the side of us, making sparks fly down onto the floor.

‘That mean you're taking us home?’ Thomas asks hopefully. I think back to the memory of my home. The small bedroom, the open plan downstairs. I wonder if I’ll ever see it again or whether it has been taken over by ruin.

‘A home of sorts. Sadly, there wouldn't be much left of wherever you came from.’ Thought so. ‘But we do have a place for you. A refuge, outside the Scorch, where WICKED will never find you again. How does that sound?’

‘How far does it go?’ I ask Mr Janson.

‘How far does what go?’ He stops and looks at me.

‘The Scorch. You said this haven is outside of it. But we must have travelled for miles to get here and all I saw was sand.’

‘The world is a very big place, young lady. Not all of it ruined. Some places remain completely unscathed, and it’s one of these places that the haven is.’ I smile gently at the thought of somewhere free of all this. Mr Janson notices my smile, and carries on walking.

‘Why are you helping us?’ Minho questions.

‘Let's just say the world out there is in a rather precarious situation. We're all hanging on by a very thin thread. The fact that you kids can survive the Flare virus... makes you the best chance of humanity's continued survival. Unfortunately, it also makes you a target, as no doubt by now you've noticed. Beyond this door lies the beginning of your new lives. First things first...let's do something about that smell.’ Rude.

I take it back. This is amazing. Standing under a stream of hot water, letting it wash away all the dirt, and sweat and blood from my body, I instantly feel relaxed. Talking of blood, my arm is now dripping blood all over my clean body. I’ll deal with that when I get out. Teresa and I were given a separate section of the shower block than the boys but I can still hear them. The sounds of joy and laughter fill the block and it makes me relax all the more.

‘All right!’ Winston calls.

‘Oh, man! Feels great!’ Minho agrees.

‘Frypan, how you feel over there?’ Winston calls back. Hearing their relaxed cheers make me giggle.

‘How you doing Teresa?’ I ask. She’s in the block next to mine.

‘This feels so good.’ She says back. ‘Who knew you could miss washing so much.’ I laugh.

‘Tell me about it.’ I poke my head out of the curtain, making sure I’m covered. ‘You have the soap?’

She pokes her head out too. ‘Yeah it’s here. And you have to try this. It’s for you hair.’ She passes me a tub of soap and a small bottle.

‘What does it do?’ I ask peering at it.

‘I think it’s conditioner.’ She grins at me. Conditioner? I haven’t thought about conditioner in such a long time I almost forgot what it was. I grin back. Popping back into my cubicle, I quickly wash myself and my hair, and then pop open the conditioner. It doesn’t smell of much, just clean. I squeeze a bit onto my hand and put down the bottle. Running it through my hair, I feel all the knots, and all the tangles just fall away. Leaving it for a minute, I think about my gun. Hidden away, under a bench. The guards wanted to take our clothes and give us fresh ones, so before I gave it up I hid the gun and the 2 clips under a bench. Peeking out of the shower, I check to see if they are still there. The dark shapes under the bench fil me with reassurance. Pulling back, I wash the conditioner out and turn off the shower. Wrapping my towel around me, I walk out to see Teresa just walking into a changing cubicle. I smirk, flipping my hair a little bit which results in a small giggle from her. On the bench lies my pack; I had refused to be parted with it. Reaching in I grab my other shirt from the glade and tie it round my arm. Picking up the clothes I was given, I walk into my own cubicle and change. Having only had two outfits for the last 4 years, putting on new clothes feels weird. Luckily it all fits. A short sleeved top and some combat trousers, with some combat boots. All in all, pretty standard. Walking out, I comb through my hair with my fingers. It hasn’t felt like this in years. Kneeling down on the floor I pick up the gun and stuff it in my pack. Once I get a jacket, I can put it back in my trousers. It’s a bit obvious otherwise. After sticking the clips in a pocket on my leg, I sit down waiting for Teresa to come out. A couple of minutes later the pair of us leave the shower block clean and refreshed.

The boys and Mr Janson and waiting outside.

‘Finally!’ Minho calls, getting up from his place on the floor. ‘You guys took ages.’

‘We’re girls,’ is all I say in response. Smirking I turn to Mr Janson. ‘What now?’

Mr Janson leads us to what looks like a medical room. Doctors in white lab coats flit around. A man in a coat comes up to us. He smiles warmly and says, ‘Don’t worry, we just want to do a few tests. Check everything is okay.’ Turning to Janson he says, ‘Who first?’ Turning to me he says, ‘I’m sure this young lady has questions for me so she should probably go first. Plus her arm is still bleeding.’ Dropping my gaze back down to my arm, the blood has now soaked through the shirt and it starting to drip.

‘Go where?’ I ask anxiously. I will not be separated from the others.

The doctor smiles. ‘Just to here.’ He says pointing at a chair. ‘I need to take some blood.’ I look nervously at the others and walk over. After a few minutes the others are taken to different areas as well. Minho and Frypan are on treadmills. I’m not quite sure why. I can’t see Winston or Jak but I know they are in the section next to me. Newt is opposite me having some sort of injection…

‘Wait, what is that?’ Newt asks as the man goes to inject something into him.

‘Just a little cocktail. Calcium, folate, vitamins A through Z. Pretty much everything you've been deprived of out there. Try to relax.’ Nervously he looks over at me, and I give him a small smile. A pinch in my arm brings me back to the doctor standing next to me.

‘What are you doing,’ I ask. He has a needle that look different to the one Newt had injected.

‘Your arm.’ He points to my arm, now free of the shirt tie. The skin around the outside of the gash was red and raw. ‘How did you do it?’ He asks curiously.

‘Bullet.’ I state. The stinging of my arm, kinda faded into the background after Chuck.

‘Ouch.’ He stated. ‘Must hurt.’

‘Stings a bit.’ I laugh slightly.

‘This will numb the area so I can put in a few stiches.’ He holds up the syringe. I nod, and he sticks it in. Soon enough the area is numb enough for him to start stitching up. Once he’s done, he puts a gauze and plaster over the top. ‘Just in case.’ He laughs. I smirk back. I like this guy, he’s got a sense of humour, which is more than you can say about others in here.

After giving me the shot that Newt had, testing my stamina and checking my height and weight, a soldier came to get me.

‘Kira?’ he asks. I look up at his brooding figure.

‘It wasn’t me.’ I say instantly. The doctor chuckles before stopping at the soldiers glance. I smirk slightly.

‘Mr Janson wants to see you.’

‘Away from here.’ I ask. I don’t know about this. I don’t want to be separated from the others.

‘Just somewhere a bit quieter.’ He assures me.

‘And then you’ll bring me back here?’ He nods.

‘Mr Janson needs to speak to the others too, he just thought you would want to be first.’ I nod at this.

‘Okay,’ I say standing up and following the man.

‘Where you going?’ Newts asks as I walk by.

‘Gonna talk to the boss man.’ I smirk. Newt rolls his eyes, but grabs my hand.

‘Be careful.’ He whispers.

‘Always am.’ I laugh, squeeze his hand and follow the soldier.


	19. Others?

Chapter 2

I’m sitting in an interrogation room. Quiet chat, my arse. I slouch back in my chair and cross my arms. A couple of minutes go by before Janson comes in.

‘Thank you for talking to me Kira.’ He says with a smile. I don’t like it. Something creeps me out about this guy. ‘I just wanted to ask you a few questions and then I’m sure you have some for me.’

‘And this is being done in an interrogation room, why?’ I say snarkily.

Janson smiles again. ‘It’s just a room. Bit quieter.’

‘Mhmm.’ I nod my head, completely unconvinced. ‘Okay, ask away.’

He smiles again. Ew. ‘What do you remember about WICKED?’ I raise my eyebrows.

‘Why?’

‘We just want to make sure you’re on the right side.’ He stares at me.

‘Well I’m not on WICKED’s side. They took me from my home, “trained” me, and then dropped me in a maze for 4 years. The entire time they watched whilst people died, whilst my friends died, children. Younger than me. 13, 14. Then they set the Grievers on us to see if they could force us out and…’ I take a deep breath and close my eyes. Come on Kira! Sell it. I think he’s buying it. ‘Before they set the Grievers on us, there were, 50, maybe a couple less of us. 8 of us made it out. Think about that, then ask me which side I’m on.’ I added an almost haunted tone to my voice, trying to make him think that I was weak.

Janson looked at me with a pitiful stare. ‘Good.’

‘Is that all you wanted to know?’ I ask gently, looking up at him.

He nods. ‘Now, ask away.’ He smiles, repeating my earlier statement. This is it Kira. Hit it home.

‘Will you have to go back?’ I watch his reaction to my words. ‘To the WICKED facility you rescued us from.’ I almost throw up, using the term rescued.

‘Why would we need to go back?’ He asks.

‘To get whatever you went for originally. You obviously didn’t come for us. You didn’t know we would be there. So you must have gone for another reason, and had to abandon it when you found us.’ I give a look of earnest, trying to make him believe that I’m being genuine. 

‘Yes,’ He nods suddenly, ‘We will have to make another run. Why do you ask?’ He looks at me curiously, almost suspiciously.

Time to quash that suspicion. ‘Two of our friends; they made it out but… Gally had been stung by a Griever. He wasn’t in his right mind. He thought WICKED would never let us leave, and then took a shot at us. He almost got me,’ I point to my arm. ‘But he got Chuck in the chest. He died right there on the floor. Minho killed Gally to stop him from hurting more of us, but he was a good guy before the sting. So now both of them are dead on the floor of a WICKED control room, and that’s not right! They deserve more than that.’ I ramble all of this off in one breath. ‘If you go back, will you try to bring them home? We can take them to the safe haven. Bury them properly. With dignity.’ Janson is smiling at me now.

‘We’ll try our best.’ Knew it. “Try our best” is code for no. They’re not going back there, because we we’re what they were going for. They knew we would be there. So unless they hacked into WICKED…

‘Thank you.’ I say quietly.

He smiles. ‘Once we have talked to your friends you can all go and join the others.

What? ‘Others?’

The tall guard who took me to Janson escorts me along another hall, turning a corner I begin to hear a murmur of voices. I look back at the guard and pick up my pace. I walk into a canteen full of kids. My age, some younger, but all in the same state as me. I look around staring at the tables, seeing if any of the others are in yet. A guy with short dark hair walks up to me.

‘You new?’ He asks.

‘What’s going on here?’ I ask still staring at the groups.

‘Come sit with us. We’ll fill you in.’ I nod and let him lead me to his table. ‘You got others.’

I nod. ‘Yeah, there is 8 of us. They’re still talking to Janson I think.’ He nods. ‘Did you come from a maze?’ He nods.

‘Yeah, we all did. Different mazes of course but…’

‘And you all made it out?’ I ask needing to know more.

‘We were pulled out, by these guys with guns. You made it out on your own?’ I nod. ‘How?’

‘We killed a Griever. It had a device, a key of sorts. It opened up a door in section 7.’ The boy and his friend looked at me in awe.

‘I ain’t never heard of anybody getting out on their own before.’ His friend says quietly.

‘Really? Everyone got pulled out?’ They both nod. ‘How long were you in for? In the maze?’

‘2 and a half years, me.’ The short haired boy said. ‘He was in for less,’ Nodding to his friend. ‘You?’

‘4. I was the first in ours.’

‘Cool.’ I smirk at the pair. ‘That one of yours?’ He nods towards the entrance. A girl is standing there. I shake my head.

‘They’re mainly guys. There is one other girl but that’s not her.’

‘Your maze was mixed?’ I shake my head.

‘Not really,’ I say. ‘It was just me and the guys for 4 years and then Teresa came. She was the last in.’

‘Lucky them.’ They boy says, smiling at me. Is he flirting? I look away from the boy, to the entrance hoping to see any of the others. Nothing yet.

‘So, how long have you been here?’ I ask, turning back around.

‘Couple of days.’ The boy’s friend replies. ‘That kid over there has been here the longest. Almost a week.’ He nods to a scrawny guy sat on his own over by the wall.

‘Did no-one else in his maze get out?’ I stare at the boy. He has a kind face, but it seems worn just like the rest of us.

He nods. ‘They did, but they have been taken to the safe haven. His name hasn’t been called yet.’ Is that how it’s done? We wait here until our names are called? ‘What about them?’ Turning, I’m thrilled to see Newt, Jak and Minho walking in with an awed look on their face. I grin.

‘Yeah, that’s some of them. I’ll be right back.’ Getting up from the table I walk over to the boys. ‘Hey.’ I laugh as they see me. Jak moves first and gives me a hug. I giggle as his tall frame envelops mine. ‘When did you get so tall? I swear you weren’t this tall half an hour ago.’ He laughs and let’s go. Minho is next.

‘We were panicking when you didn’t come back.’ He says quietly. I stand back and smile.

‘I’m good.’ Looking over at Newt, I feel red rush to my cheeks. He steps forward to give me a hug. It’s different than the others. This feels almost, intimate. ‘You okay? I ask gently. He nods and takes my hand. The other hand he moves to my hair.

‘It’s softer than before.’ He notes quietly. I grin wildly.

‘They gave us conditioner.’ Newt laughs at my behaviour. ‘We weren’t the only maze. Come on. I’ve met some people who can clear things up.’ Hand in hand with Newt I lead them back to the table. The guys nod to the boys as we appear.

‘Hey, you guys came from her maze, right?’ Minho nods, sitting down.

‘Kira said you could clear things up for us.’ Jak pitches in. As they say what they had already told me, I look over to the boy sat on his own. Getting up from the table, I squeeze Newt’s hand and say, ‘I’ll be right back.’ He squeezes back and let’s go. Walking over to the boy, I weave in and out of the other tables. People laugh and joke with each other. Am I being paranoid! Can no-one else see how this is all suspicious? Finally reaching the boy, I sit down opposite.

‘Hi,’ I say simply. The boy raises his head, looking at me curiously. ‘I’m Kira.’ I hold out my hand for him to shake. He takes it. ‘Aris,’ he says quietly. I smile.

‘The guys over there say you have been here the longest. Almost a week?’ I ask needing to know what he knows.

Aris nods quickly looking interested in what I have to say. ‘You seen anything weird?’

‘Like what,’ He says quickly, his eyes quickly darting to the guards. He has seen something.

‘Like, something that proves these guys are not who they say they are?’ I lower my voice, so the people on the other tables can’t hear us.

He nods. ‘I can’t describe it though, I need to show you.’

‘How you gonna do that?’ I ask curious.

‘I’ll come get you tonight, from your room.’

‘How’d you know where we’ll be?’ I ask, not even wanting to know how he intends to get us out. This place is locked up by key cards.

He smiles a shy smile. ‘I have this whole place mapped out. And you’re the newest arrivals.’ I grin at him.

‘Okay, I’ll see you then.’ I smirk and then get up. ‘See ya, Aris.’

‘Bye.’ Walking back to the boys table, I smile to myself. I might actually find out what is going on here. Noticing Thomas and the others are now all present at the table, I hurry back to find out what Janson asked.

‘That kid over there has been here the longest. Almost a week.’ I can hear their conversation as I walk back over.

‘His maze was nothing but girls.’ The boy who welcomed me in says with a smirk. I chuckle. Boys. Girl crazy.

‘Really?’ Minho comments raising an eyebrow.

‘Some guys have all the luck.’ His friend says with a grin.

‘Yes I suppose they do,’ I chuckle sitting back down next to Newt. They Gladers chuckle whilst the other guys look embarrassed. I laugh at their expressions. ‘Don’t worry, they don’t see me as a girl.’

‘That’s interesting.’ The boy says, ‘I don’t see anything else.’ I laugh at the cheesy line rolling my eyes, and take Newt’s hand under the table.

‘Wow, be still my beating heart,’ I say dryly. The boys all laugh at this.

Oh here he comes, ruining out fun. Janson walks in with his classic air of arrogance and a clipboard.

‘Good evening, gentlemen. Ladies. You all know how this works. If you hear your name called... please rise in an orderly fashion, join my colleagues behind me... where they will escort you to the eastern wing. Your new lives are about to begin.’ I lean over the table.

‘Is this how they do it?’ I say to the boys. The pair nod not really paying attention to me.

‘Connor.’ A boy behind us cheers and high-fives the guy opposite.

‘Evelyn.’ A young girl from the front of the room, stands up, whispers a quick goodbye to her friends and moves to the front.

‘Justin.’

‘Peter.’

‘Allison.’

‘Squiggy.’ Everyone laughs at this name. The guy that gets up matches the expectation well. A cheeky grin is plastered along his face.

‘All right. Settle down.’ I smirk at Janson’s underlying frustration.

‘Franklin.’

‘And Abigail.’

‘Now, now, don't get discouraged. If I could take more, I would. There's always tomorrow. Your time will come. Go on, eat up.’ Janson waltzes out the room almost like a fucking ballerina, still poking his nose in the air.

‘Is that it? 8 a day.’ Looking round at the room full of people, I wonder how long we’re gonna be here.

‘Where are they going?’ Minho asks.

‘Far from here. Lucky bastards.’ One of the guys says, spinning back round a deflated look on his face.

‘Some kind of farm. A safe place. They can only take in a couple of people at a time.’ The other says.

I sigh at this news before I see something strange. Teresa. She is walking behind the window with a doctor. I elbow Thomas, nodding to her.

‘What the hell? Hey, Teresa? Teresa!’ Thomas gets up from the table, calling her.

‘Shit. I got him.’ I get up and follow Thomas, who is now talking to a guard.

‘Where are they taking her?’ Thomas demands. I walk up to his side putting my hand on his arm.

‘They just have to run a few more tests. Don't worry, they'll be done with her soon.’ Looking at the guard, I notice the key card hanging from his waist. If we need that, I could get it. I’d just need a distraction.

‘Is she okay?’ Thomas asks, more calm this time.

‘She's fine.’ He doesn’t know who we’re on about. These are stock answers. How many others has he said this to? Pulling Thomas back to his seat I say, ‘Sorry, sir,’ to the guard.

‘It’s alright miss.’ He replies as we leave. Thomas looks at me confused as we get back to the table.

‘Why did you apologise?’

‘Because he’s just doing his job,’ I reply, not wanting to tell him the real reason with so many ears around. I give him a look that says, wait. He nods and we fall quiet.

We are walked in silence to our room. The guards had tried to convince me to have a separate room, but there is no way that is happening. I have lived with these boys for years, I’m not stopping now. Opening the door the guard steps put of the way to let us in. Several bunk beds are spread out around the room and there are several sinks and some toilets in the corner. Ah. Didn’t think about that bit. Oh well.

‘I got top bunk.’ Frypan said walking towards the bed closest the door. Minho using his superior athletic skill climbs up before Frypan can get there.

‘Too slow.’ He says cheekily as Frypan grumbles and settles on the bottom bunk. Winston choosing the bottom bunk flops down putting his arms behind his head.

‘I could get used to this.’ He says with a grin. Jak takes the top of that bunk and I take one opposite.

‘Yeah. It's not bad.’ Newt says moving to take top of the one up from Winston.

‘Hey, what do you think those guys want with Teresa?’ Thomas asks us quietly.

‘Now, if there's one thing I know about that girl, she can take care of herself.’ Newt says carefully.

‘Don't worry about it.’ I say patting him on the shoulder. After that, people seem to fall asleep quite quickly; the impact of the day finally hitting. Slipping my gun under my pillow, I lie down on my bed, waiting for Aris.

‘Hey.’ I hear a whisper. I sit up looking around to see if any of the boys are awake. Thomas, who is also awake, sits up looking at me.

‘Down here.’ Looking underneath Thomas’ bed I see a small vent grate, with Aris’ face peeking in from the other side.

‘When you said you needed to show me, you could have mentioned the vents.’ I say with a sigh. Thomas hangs over the side of his bed to see who I’m talking to.

‘Oh, my God.’ He whispers at the sight of the boy in the vent. Aris looks at me.

‘Is he coming too?’ I look at Thomas.

‘Might be easier to convince the others if I’m not the only one who has seen it.’ Aris nods and starts to work his way backward.

‘Come on. Follow me.’ I immediately start to shuffle into the vent.

‘What?’ Thomas whispers after me.

‘Hurry, this way.’ Aris calls from further ahead.

‘Come on.’ I motion into the vent. Moving fast, I get the feeling that whatever Aris is taking us to see, it’s planned for a specific time. Concentrating on the moving forward rather than the confining space, I catch up with Aris.

‘Hey, wait a second.’ Thomas whispers from behind me. ‘What the hell are we doing?’

‘Aris is gonna show us something that proves these people are not who they say they are.’ I whispers back hurriedly.

‘Come on, we're gonna miss it.’ Aris says form ahead.

‘What the hell am I doing?’ I hear Thomas whisper to himself behind me. Coming out into a larger vent I feel my chest release, letting me breathe again.

‘Aris, we’re not doing vents again, okay.’ He smirks, at my frazzled state.

‘What are we doing?’ Thomas has finally caught up with us and moves over to the vent opening we are surrounding. Beneath us is one of the buildings corridors.

‘Watch.’ He says pointing down.

Footsteps. They’re getting louder and louder. Underneath us is the doctor we saw with Teresa earlier. She walks along the hall a bit, then stops, look around and beckons something forward. Behind her come, what look like, glass cases with some sort of screen on the front. Craning my neck to get a better look, I notice that it is human life signatures on the screen. Flicking my eyes up to Aris, I notice him looking at Thomas and then locking eyes with me. Refocusing my eyes on the doctor, she opens a door on the side with a key card and walks in. Behind her the cases are wheeled in too.

‘What the hell was that?’ Thomas whispers, looking at me.

‘They bring in new ones every night like clockwork.’ Aris says keeping his eyes locked on the door.

‘You know what they do with them?’ I ask gently.

‘I don't know. This is as far as I've ever gotten. The vents don't even go into that section. But once they go through that door, they don't come back out. I don't think anybody ever really leaves this place. Come on. We've gotta go before somebody notices we're gone.’ Aris says before moving away.

‘Aris,’ I say quickly. ‘Thank you for trusting us.’ He smiles a tight smile and climbs back into the tight vent. Ah shit.

Once we get back to the room, Thomas instantly goes to wake everyone up. I grab his arm.

‘What are you doing?’ I whisper-shout.

‘They need to know!’ He says back, not exactly being quiet.

‘Not right now they don’t. Right now they need sleep. We all do!’ Pushing him back towards his bed, I turn round and get into my own. ‘And I swear to god, if you wake me up hugely early, I will hurt you.’ Thomas quietly chuckles from his own bed as I lay my head down to try and get some sleep.

After not enough hours sleep, we’re all wake and talking about what Thomas and I saw last night.

‘But they were covered up?’ Newt says, still not convinced at what we’re saying.

‘They had life signatures on the screens. Heart-rate, oxygen levels. The only way it could be more obvious is if they were wheeling people around completely uncovered.’ I say trying to get them all to see sense. ‘I know you’re all hopeful that this safe haven is the real deal, and it might be, but these people are not the ones that are gonna get us there.’ I know it’s harsh but I need them to be convinced. Newt sighs and stands up from his place on his bed. I look up at him as he puts his hands on my shoulders. ‘You have to believe me,’ I say to him.

‘You know I do, it’s just hard to admit this might not be what we wanted.’ He whispers, placing his chin on my head. Before I can say anything else on the matter, a guard comes and gets us for breakfast.

The day carries on quite normally, they take us for tests, we ask about Teresa, same old, same old. When we get to dinner is when things start to get interesting. I shove as much food down my throat, figuring if we find something bad, this may be the last proper meal we get for a while. Janson comes in again, prima ballerina and his flipping clipboard.

‘Alice.’

‘Barry.’

‘Walt.’

‘Edgar.’

‘Samantha.’ I stare at the key card at the guard’s waist. I can get it, I just need a distraction.

‘I wanna know what's through that door.’ Tommy says from next to me. I need a distraction. Tommy’s pissed. I can see what’s gonna happen already.

‘Aaron.’

‘Look, we've been over this. You said they were covered up, so you don't know what you saw.’ Newt tries to calm Thomas down, not realising that this is what we need.

‘Dennis.’

‘It could've been anything under there.’ Newt continues. Thomas isn’t deflating. Him blowing up in some guards face is exactly what I need to get the card.

‘I know exactly what I saw. They were bodies.’ Thomas grunts, his fury getting the best of him.

‘Sally.’

‘Aris said they bring in a new batch every night.’ He adds.

‘Who the hell is Aris?’ Minho says from across the table. Thomas and I nod to Aris’ form at the end table, where he seems to be studying a piece of cake. When a bit drops down onto his lap, I giggle.

‘Henry.’

‘Tim.’

‘Well, I'm sold.’ Minho states sarcastically.

‘And last but not least, David. Thank you for your attention. Enjoy the rest of your evening.’ Janson finished his speech and leaves. Good. Creep.

‘Okay, until we know anything for certain, we should just keep our heads down... and try not to draw any attention to ourselves, all right?’ Newt says, obviously trying to calm Thomas down. This is all Thomas needs to snap. Banging his hands on the table, he gets up and walks over to the door.

‘What is he doing?’ Newt says, knowing exactly what he is doing.

‘I think he's drawing attention to himself.’ I say with a grin, silently getting up and following. Thomas tries to blend in with the group leaving, before being stopped by the two guards.

‘Hang on. You weren't called.’ He says firmly.

‘I know, I'm just gonna be a second.’ Thomas says trying to push past. Walking up slowly, I wait for the opportune moment.

‘This is a restricted area, kid.’ Getting in his face, was the worst (or best) thing you could have done buddy.

‘I just wanna see my friend. Can you let me through?’ Tommy squares up to the guy.

‘Get your ass back in that chair.’ The guard pokes his finger into Thomas’ chest. Thomas turns around, pretending to walk away. This is it. Spinning round Thomas runs full steam at the guards hoping to skim past. The guards were ready for him. Pushing Thomas away the guard shouts ‘Back off!’

‘What's your problem, man?’ Thomas loses his shit and pushes the guard back forcefully.

‘What the hell, huh?’ Running forward, I make it look like I’m grabbing for Thomas but snatch the card instead. Then I move out the way, to pocket the card, whilst the boys pull Thomas off the guard.

‘Back off!’ The guard repeats. Moving between Thomas and the guard, I say, ‘Why won't you let us see her?’

‘Control your friend!’ The other guard shouts.

‘How about you control yours,’ I snap back, sick of these guards teaching us like children.

‘What's happening here?’ Oh lookey here. Mr Janson to the rescue. ‘Thomas? Kira? I thought we could trust each other. You know we're all on the same team here.’ I narrow my eyes, staring back at him solidly.

‘Are we?’ I say finally.

‘Get them to their bunks.’ Janson says after a minute. Several guards round us up and force us back down the halls to out room. Opening the door they push us inside.

‘Get your asses in there! All of you!’ The guard shouts before shutting and locking the door.

Moving over to my bed, I see what Thomas has to say for himself.

‘What the hell was that about?’ Minho yelled at Thomas.

‘You didn't really think they were just gonna let you through?’ Newt said.

‘Nah, of course I didn't.’ Thomas said angrily.

‘He was going for the key card.’ I interject standing up fingering the card in my pocket.

‘I was this close,’ He said holding his fingers together. ‘Janson arrived before I could get it. A couple more…’ Thomas stopped, as he saw me leaning against the bed with the card dangling from my fingers.

‘If you want something doing…’ I start. Thomas grins at me form across the room.

‘How’d you do that.’ Newt said, mouth open.

‘Some of us have more tact that others. I knew I could get it, I just needed a distraction. Sorry.’ I add to Thomas.

He grins. ‘Happy to help.’

‘We’re gonna find out what's on the other side of that door.’ I say to the rest of the boys.

‘Right.’ Newt says knowing he can’t argue with me.

‘Newt, they're hiding something. Okay? These people are not who they say they are.’ Thomas tries to get Newt to see where we coming from, but he won’t have it.

‘No, Thomas, you don't know that!’ Newt finally explodes. ‘The only thing that we do know is that they helped rescue us from WICKED. They gave us new clothes. They gave us food. They gave us a proper bed. Some of us haven't had that in a long time.’ He adds looking at Thomas straight in the face, obviously forgetting I’m here.

‘Yeah, but...’ Thomas tries but is again interrupted by Newt.

‘Some of us a lot longer than others.’ I walk forward to stand in front of Newt. I don’t say anything, I just look at him. He sighs in defeat.

‘We’ll be careful.’ I say quietly, giving him a hug. As he wraps his arms round me, I can hear Minho sniggering. The vent grate comes shooting out from under Thomas’ bed ad Aris’ head peeks out from underneath.

‘Hey, Kira. Hey, Thomas.’ I smirk at the boys reactions.

‘What the...’ Minho says staring at Aris.

‘You got it, didn't you?’ Aris said looking at Thomas. He shook his head before motioning to me.

‘Not me. She did.’ I give Aris a grin and a little wave. He chuckles.

‘Okay. Let's go.’ Aris says shuffling backwards.

‘Argh,’ I groan. ‘Why does it always have to be the vents?’ Thomas chuckles and sits on the floor in front of the vent.

‘All right, look, maybe you guys are right. Maybe we’re just being paranoid. But we got to find out for sure. Just cover for us. We’ll be back as soon as we can.’ And with that he follows Aris. I look around at the guys.

‘I have to know.’ I say in explanation. Walking over to my bed, I grab the gun from under my pillow. Stuffing it into my trousers, I say to Newt, ’Just in case.’ He nods and gives me a swift kiss on the cheek. Smiling giddily, I crawl into the vent.

After 10 excruciating minutes of making our way through the increasingly tight spaces, we make it to the room. Thomas opens the vent opening and drops down, Aris following quickly after and then me. Thomas checks the halls, whilst Aris closes the vent and I walk to the door and scan the card. The green light signals our entry and the doors slide open. Walking inside, I get distracted by a bubbling noise. Looking to my left there is a room filled with huge tanks. Inside the tanks are, what look like huge prawns, with spiky backs and lots of legs. A shiver of disgust works its way down my spine. Thomas, Aris and I all walk forward to the next set of doors. They slide open as we get closer.

We make our way into a huge room, full of people. But not live people. There are hundreds and hundreds of people hooked up to machines attached to their heads. Rows and rows of people hooked to respirators and wires. My head spins at the sight. Walking closer towards one of the people, I see an expanse of wires coming from the machine on their head. They all lead to a small tube in which a blue liquid is dripping in, drop by drop.

‘It’s a harvest.’ I breathe out, feeling sick at the thought.

‘Teresa?’ Thomas’ voice comes from behind me. I spin round to see him standing in front of a dark-haired girl – but it’s not Teresa.

‘It's Rachel. They took her the first night. I told her it was going to be okay.’ Aris said, staring at the girl with sadness. I slip my arm round his shoulders trying to offer what small amount of comfort I can give. The opening of the doors startle us from our sombre realisation. Hiding behind the tall pillars supporting the room, we watch as Janson and another man with a clipboard (what is it with these guys and their clipboards?) walk past us.

‘You sure this can't wait?’ Janson says sounding peeved.

‘She was very specific, sir. She wanted to speak with you personally.’ The man responded, not taking his eyes from his board, which had a tablet rested on top.

‘As if I don't have enough to deal with.’ Janson replied.

‘Just bear with me. I'm getting some interference from the storm.’ The man said. The pair stopped at an arch way.

‘Come on. It's good enough. Make the connection.’ Janson instructs the man. A hologram flickers up in the archway, of a woman sat at her desk. As she lifts her head I see who it is. It can’t be! She’s dead! We saw it! I saw her!

‘Good evening, Doctor Paige. Lovely to see you again. Although I admit... I wasn't expecting to hear from you quite so soon.’ Janson says with mock cheerfulness. They’re WICKED! All of this was WICKED. It was all part of their plan.

‘Change of plans, Janson. I'll be arriving a little sooner than expected. First thing tomorrow.’ Dr Paige, gets up from her desk and walks round to the front.

‘We'll be delighted to have you. I think you'll be pleased with the progress we've made. As you can see, early results have been extremely promising. Whatever it is you've been doing to them in there, it’s working.’ The man with Janson, flicks some sort of scientific findings onto the hologram. Dr Paige seems to study it for a minute, before turning her attention back to Janson.

‘Not well enough. I just received board approval. I want all the remaining subjects sedated and prepped for harvest by the time I arrive.’ Harvest. I said it. They’re harvesting people for what… a cure?

‘Doctor Paige, we are going as fast as we can. We are still running tests...’ Janson begins.

‘Try something faster. Until I can guarantee their security, this is the best plan.’ Dr Paige has obviously had enough of Janson’s whining.

‘Ma'am, security is my job. We're on 24 hour lockdown here. I am assuring you... the assets are secure.’ Assets. You mean people, you sick son of a bitch.

‘Have you found the Right Arm?’ She asks, as if she already knows the answer.

‘Not yet. We tracked them as far as the mountains.’ The mountains. Whoever this Right Arm I they are obviously against WICKED. We have to go there. Escape then find the Right Arm.

‘So they're still out there. And they've already hit two of our installations. They want these kids as badly as we do. And I cannot... I cannot afford another loss. Not now, when I am so close to a cure. If you are not up to the task, I will find someone who is.’ Dr Paige sits back down at her desk.

‘That won't be necessary. Might I suggest we start with the most recent arrivals?’ Janson says with a smirk. That’s us. We’re the most recent. Fuck!

‘Just get it done. Janson. Not Kira. She doesn’t get harvested. She’s too valuable.’ Me? I look at Thomas, who is looking straight back at me.

‘Ma’am,’ Janson starts as if to argue.

‘Not her.’ She snaps. ‘Janson, I don't want them to feel any pain.’ This time her voice is calmer.

‘They won't feel a thing.’ Janson says, before the call disconnects. Janson and the man turn and leave immediately, leaving the room in silence.

They’re coming for us. We need to get out. Now!


	20. The Scorch

Chapter 3

Crawling faster than we have ever crawled in our live, we made it back to the room in a couple of minutes. Thomas was first pushing the grate across the floor and jumping out.

‘Thomas!’ Newt exclaims in surprise.

‘We gotta go. We gotta go right now.’ Thomas rambles in panic. Making it out of the vent, I start grabbing bedsheets and chucking them to Thomas to tie the door shut.

‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Jak says, looking at me for answers.

‘What do you mean, "We gotta go?"’ Newt says, also looking at me.

‘They're coming. Come on. We gotta go. They're coming for us.’ Thomas is frantically blocking up the door with whatever he can find.

‘Paige. She's still alive.’ I manage to stutter out. Newt walks up to me and grabs my elbows.

‘What happened in there?’ I just shake my head, I can’t get the words out. We never escaped, we were never rescued.

‘Aris, what happened?’ Minho yells. He seems to be in the same state I’m in. Pure shock.

‘Thomas, can you just calm down and talk to us.’ Newt has walked back over to Thomas and trying to get him to calm down. Shaking out of my shock, I walk up and start to help Thomas push the mattresses against the door.

‘She's still alive.’ I repeat, more to myself this time.

‘Who's she? Teresa?’ Frypan obviously heard me.

‘Ava.’ Thomas says.

‘Ava?’ Newt is just confused now. ‘Will you just turn around and talk to us?’

‘It's WICKED!’ I shout. They stand in shock, staring at me. ‘It's still WICKED. It's always been WICKED.’ Thomas keeps trying to block up the door, whilst Newt comes to me.

‘What did you see?’

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. _Remember your training._ Paige’s voice rings in my ears. Taking another breath, a cold calmness washes over me. ‘We have to go now.’ I say. ‘Whatever stuff you can run with, grab it and let’s go. Thomas. Now!’ He looks and me and moves over to the vent. ‘Aris, you’ve gotta snap out of it. You need to tell us where to go. We need to get Teresa and to the main doors. Got it?’ He nods and crawls back into the vents. Thomas is next, followed by the others. I grab my pack, check that my gun and clips are secure and follow.

‘Come on, come on.’ Thomas ushers us out of the vet still panicking. I grab his shoulders.

‘Focus. Find Teresa. Get out. Don’t even think about back there. Block it out.’ I say firmly. He takes a breath, then nods. ‘Okay, let's go then.’ I say before moving past Thomas.

‘You guys go ahead. There's something I gotta do.’ Aris stays one leg in the vent.

‘What are you talking about?’ Thomas walks back towards him.

‘Trust me, it's important. You guys wanna get outta here, right? Just go.’

‘Okay, go. Winston go with him.’ Winston nods and races back into the vent.

‘Go! Come on.’ I say trying to keep a level head.

‘You sure we can trust this kid?’ Minho says doubtfully.

‘You don't want to know where we'd be without him.’ Thomas says rounding a corner, bumping straight into Teresa’s doctor. Would you look at that?

‘What are you kids doing out?’ She asks suspiciously. A claxon suddenly sounds giving her the answer she needed. Instantly my hand grabs my gun from my trousers and points it at her.

‘Take us to Teresa. Now.’

‘You don’t want to do that.’ She says, holding her hands up.

‘Your right. I don’t. But I will if I have to.’ This scares her slightly as she turns and starts leading us down the corridor. Grabbing her arms and pushing the gun into her back, we move quickly down the winding corridors towards the lab.

Running down several hallways, Frypan makes his way in front. Rounding a corner we see a guard further down facing us.

‘Freeze! Stay where you are!’ He yells, shooting at us.

‘Why are they shooting at us?’ Frypan cries as we run back up the hall we came from. Minho suddenly stops, facing the corner which the guard will come round.

‘Minho!’ I shout, he turns to look at me. ‘Ram him.’ He grins and begins running flat out.

‘What the hell are you doing? Minho!’ Newt shouts. Just as the guard rounds the corner, Minho jumps and kicks him, straight in the chest causing the guard to crash into the wall and knock himself out.

‘Shit, Minho!’ Newt exclaims as we catch him up.

‘Good boy,’ I laugh as I pass with the Doctor.

‘Okay. Let's go. Come on. Let's go.’ Thomas says picking up the huge gun from the guard.

‘Overcompensating are we?’ I tease as he passes.

‘Shut up,’ He says rolling his eyes. Reaching the lab, I push the doctor to the door, so she can open it. Another doctor just inside the door says ‘Dr. Crawford, are you here to...’ I interrupt by pushing her forward and pointing my gun at him.

‘Wait, wait. Okay, okay.’ He says stepping backwards and holding his hands up. Thomas and the rest if the guys come in after me.

‘Where is she? Where is she?!’ Thomas demands. The doctor’s eyes flick over to the enclosed bed on the far side of the room. Thomas chucks his gun at Minho and goes to get Teresa. I keep my eyes on the corridor. 

‘Get over! Get down!’ Minho shouts grouping the Doctors. ‘Get down!’

‘Okay, hands, give me your hands! Give me your hands!’ Newt is wrapping Dr Crawford’s hands with a bedsheet.

‘You're never gonna get away with this.’ She says kneeling on the floor.

The flash of sliver catches my eye as the soldiers and Janson make their way down the hall.

‘Guys? They're coming! Where do we go?’ Frypan calls. I grab the magazine that I had previously dropped into my pocket before threatening the doctor and clicked it into place.

‘It wasn’t even loaded?’ Newt gaped in confusion.

‘I wasn’t gonna shoot her. She was just doing her job. Them, I’ll shoot,’ motioning to the soldiers advancing on the lab.

‘Frypan! Jak! Move!’ Newt shouts. We push one of the tables over and put it long ways in front of the door barricading ourselves in.

‘Get back! Get back!’ I shout. Several of the men are shoving at the door, trying to break the tables.

‘They've got the door barricaded. Send backup!’ Janson’s voice echoes from outside.

‘Okay, we gotta get outta here! Where do we go?’ Minho cries.

‘You focus on that! I’ll deal with them.’ I cry. Lining up the shot, I watch as one of the soldier’s hands moves in and out as he pushes on the door. Same place every time.

‘Push!’ he shouts. Take a breath, and _crack_. My finger pulls the trigger and a cry of anguish signals the hit of my target.

‘Everyone stand back!’ Thomas’ voice comes from behind me. I ignore it and focus on the soldiers. A leg. In and out. Same as before. Breathe and pull. _Crack_. Shouts from outside the door halt the pushing for a moment.

‘Do something quick,’ I shout.

‘Come on!’

‘Newt! Help, help!’

‘Ready?’

_Smash._

The window smashes into a million shards.

‘Go, go, go!’ Teresa, who is still shoeless, throws a duvet over the wall, to prevent us getting stuck with glass.

‘Get someone on the other side!’ I shout. Thomas jumps over and lifts Teresa, I jump over next and the rest follow.

‘Thomas!’ Minho chucks his gun to Thomas as he climbs over.

‘Let's go! Stay behind me!’ Thomas says. I ready my gun, just in case. As Thomas opens the door, we come face to face with a guard.

‘Shoot,’ I shout, and he does. An electric device shoots out of the gun and electrocutes the man.

‘Shit. Okay, come on!’ We keep running towards the door that leads into the main hall.

‘Stop!’ The guards following us are gaining.

‘Teresa,’ I shout, chucking her the key card.

‘There it is! There it is!’ Thomas shouts. Teresa runs forward and swipes the card. It doesn’t work.

‘Shit. Come on! No, no, no!’ I spin round pointing my gun straight at the men coming up on us.

‘Kira!’ Janson shouts.

‘Open this door, Janson!’ I shout advancing on him. They move forward as well. ‘I wouldn’t move if I were you. Turns out I’m a good shot.’ Nodding to the guy to Janson’s left with a bullet hole in his hand. ‘How’s your hand?’ I ask snarkily.

‘You really don't want me to open that door Kira,’ Janson said holding his hands up.

‘Oh, I really do!’ I can feel Thomas coming up beside me, gun at the ready.

‘Open the damn door!’ He shouts.

‘Listen to me! I'm trying to save your life. The maze is one thing, but you kids wouldn't last one day... out in the Scorch. If the elements don't kill you, the Cranks will. Thomas, you have to believe me. I only want what's best for you.’ Janson says.

‘Yeah, let me guess. WICKED is good?’ Thomas sarcastically asks.

‘Thing is Janson, we will survive out there. I’ve been trained for it. I’m remembering the training. Remembering why you’re so familiar.’ I chuckle bitterly, seeing his face clearly for the first time. ‘It was you. You trained me. That’s how you know I’m a good shot, and that’s why in your little speech just then, you didn’t look me in the eye, not once. Because you know I can do it. And if I can, they can too.’

‘You're not getting through that door, Kira.’ He says, keeping his eyes locked on mine.

‘Watch me.’ I say, and I hear the click of it opening behind me. With a grin, I look back and see Aris and Winston stood on the other side of the opening door.

‘Hey, guys.’ Edging backwards slowly, I keep my eyes locked on Janson. Thomas is the same speed as me, whatever I would like to believe. It were gonna make it, I need to be closer to him.

‘Come on!’ Newt shouts. Noticing the light above Janson and the others, I aim and shoot it. Sparks fly down onto them as I start running.

‘Thomas! Move it! Come on! Let's go!’ I cry as I run towards the door

‘Go, go. Stop them! Shut the main vault door!’ Janson’s voice echoes round the halls. I push harder and harder, moving faster and faster.

‘No!’ Teresa’s cries make me look up at the others. We’re cutting it fine.

‘Fucking move it Tommy!’ I scream. Throwing ourselves at the door, I sink to my knees, bending backwards to avoid the closing door, whilst Thomas throws himself sideways spinning underneath before it shuts.

The clanging of the door shutting alerts me to the next problem. Janson has a card. Grabbing my gun, I jump up and smash the hilt down on the keypad, effectively destroying it from both sides.

Moving back towards the door, I see Janson on the other side trying his card. I smirk.

‘You little bitch.’ He shouts through the door.

‘Well, that’s not nice is it?’ I say to Teresa. She laughs shaking her head before throwing her arms round me. After she releases me, I go back to the door, seeing Thomas give Janson the finger. I laugh and blow him a kiss, before running after the others.

‘Come on, Kira. Let's go. Come on!’ Minho has grabbed another pack from a soldier and together we leg it towards the main doors. As we get there Thomas pulls a red lever and the doors unlock. A hot, sticky wind blows from the desert outside, but we don’t have time to complain. 

‘Come on. Keep moving!’ I cry, as I run past them into the sand.

‘Come on. Come on!’ Thomas shouts as we fight to keep up the pace on the side of a huge dune.

‘Come on, come on! We'll lose them in the storm!’ I say, helping Jak up the side. After making it to the top we throw ourselves on the ground keeping low, so they can’t see us. Keeping moving we move quickly, staying low until we are far enough over a hill that we can stand straight.

‘Teresa, hang on. Stay together!’ Peering at the front of the group Teresa is running ahead to wards, a window, coming out of the ground?

‘I think we lost them!’ Jak says to me with a grin. I nod a little before surging ahead to see what this building is. As we all convene round the window, Teresa decides to jump in.

‘Teresa, wait!’

‘No, don't go in there!’ I laugh at their concern and follow her in. A steep sand hill leads from the window to the floor, making for a smooth-ish entrance.

‘Get down here!’ Teresa shouts. Taking out a torch form my bag, I scan around the place. It looks like a shopping centre, completely buried by sand.

‘Where the hell are we?’ Minho says, looking around with his own torch.

‘We gotta go.’ Thomas says making to move away.

‘No. Thomas, stop!’ I say quickly, before anyone else can. ‘They deserve to know what’s going on.’

‘We gotta keep moving.’ He says earnestly.

‘I know, and we will, but they need to know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.’

‘It's WICKED. It's WICKED. They lied to us. We never escaped. Me, Kira and Aris, we found bodies. Too many to count.’ He explained quickly.

‘What do you mean? Dead bodies?’ Minho questioned.

‘No, but they weren't alive either. They had them strung up. With tubes coming out of them. They were being drained. There's something inside of us that WICKED wants. Something in our blood. So we have to get as far away from them as possible.’ I finish.

Newt nods along with this information. ‘Okay. So, what's the plan? You do have a plan, right?’

‘Yeah. I don't know.’ Yes you do! What are you saying you don’t know for!

‘Well, we followed you out here, Thomas... and now you're saying that you have no idea where we're going... or what we're doing.’ Newt says sounding nervous.

‘Wait. Janson said something about people hiding in the mountains. Some kind of resistance or army.’ Aris adds in.

‘The Right Arm.’ I explain.

‘The Right Arm. If they're really against WICKED, maybe they can help us.’ Thomas says agreeing with us.

‘People. In the mountains. Mountain people. That's your plan?’ Newt finished sounding thoroughly unconvinced.

‘He didn’t explain it very well.’ I interject, looking over at Thomas with a glare. ‘The Right Arm are a resistance movement that have WICKED worried. They have already taken out two WICKED facilities on their own; rescuing some of us along the way. According to Dr Paige, they want us as much as WICKED do. They can help us.

‘It's the only chance we have.’ Thomas says.

‘Hey, guys. Check this out.’ Winston is kneeling slightly further up than us. ‘Minho, give me a light! Someone's been down here.’ He’s right, footprints in the sand lead into several of the shops. Peering in through one of the doors, I see bags of stuff inside. I turn round and look to Minho.

‘We need to get this open.’

‘Come on. Open up.’ Minho says as him and Winston pull of the plastic covering over the entrance.

‘Looks like people lived here.’ Frypan said looking at the abundance of clothes, water and basic belongings covering the floor.

‘Where are they now?’ Newt says, looking at me.

‘Let's pack some of this stuff up. Anything you think you might need. We'll split up, see what else we can find. Meet back here.’ I say quickly, grabbing a jacket from the side. ‘Thomas, will you and Minho look out there, whilst the rest of us pack stuff up in here?’ He nods as Newt chucks him a torch. ‘Tommy. Don’t do anything stupid.’ I give him a grin as he leaves with Minho.

Walking to one side of the room I grab several backpacks and chuck them to Newt. ‘Here.’ He grabs them and starts putting extra clothes and water into them. I decide to walk to the back of the shop to see what’s there. Shining my torch light over the floor, I see makeshift beds and a pile of clothes on top. A gasp comes from behind me making me jump. I spin round to see Teresa clutching her chest.

‘You all right?’ Newt’s voice comes from the front.

‘We’re good.’ I shout back, chuckling at Teresa. I beckon her over. ‘Looks like these might fit you,’ I say, holding a pair of boots and a shirt. She smiles and moves behind me to change. Noticing a long sleeved shirt on the floor I decide to change, as the shirt I’m wearing now doesn’t exactly protect me form the weather. Pulling off my shirt, I grab the other and begin to replace it. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Frypan watching me. Before I can say anything however Newt places his fingers on Frypan’s cheek and turns his head back to him.

‘What?’ Frypan says, chuckling. I giggle slightly as I see Newt try to hide the fact that he too is looking. My cheeks flush red at the thought of him watching me, so I quickly finish pulling the shirt over and go off in search of a hoodie. After finding one, and a jacket which goes over both, I walk back to the front to see what the boys have found.

‘How’s it going,’ I say not looking at Newt in the eye. If I did I know I would blush, and that won’t do much for my badass image now will it.

‘Well, we’ve found plenty of water, clothes, torches, found a whole pile of cans over there.’ Newt says cheerfully.

‘Okay, have you checked anywhere else yet?’ I ask the pair.

‘Not yet, Aris, Winston and Jak have been but I’m not sure what they have found.’

‘Right, Frypan can you go check the others see what they’ve got, so we know what we need to still look for.’ He nods and leaves the room. Moving my pack off my bag, I sling it on the floor and open it. I need to see what I can get rid of to make space for more water and food. Most things are just stuff from the glade; bedrolls, canteens, that kinda thing. Reaching down to the bottom, my fingers brush against something cold; metal. I pull it out and to my surprise, I see Chuck’s knife. Quite small and perfect for carving wood, it suited him perfectly. Standing up slowly, I walk to the back of the shop and sit down to look at it. Rubbing some sand off the handle I run my fingers over the small carving of Chuck’s name. I gave this to him. On his first night. Something wet drips down my cheek and onto my nose. I brush away the tear before it can fall. I take a deep breath to try and stop more from coming. Several tears drip onto the shiny metal, as I think back to my memories of him. His face when he first came up in the box, when he began carving the owl, when he met Jak. He was always there to cheer everyone up. A shuffling of feet makes me look up, Newt walks towards me concern shining in his face.

‘Are you okay?’ Newt sits down beside me. I pass him the knife. ‘This is…’

‘Yeah. He must have put it in when I made him empty his pack a bit. I’d forgotten. With everything that’s happened, I haven’t even looked in my pack since then.’ I sigh as more tears fall from my eyes. ‘I wasn’t fast enough,’ I say quietly, voicing a thought that had been plaguing me this whole time. ‘I had the gun, I could have grabbed it; but it was Gally, you know. I kinda hoped we could talk him round. I hesitated. I won’t that mistake again.’ I finish, vowing to myself never to hesitate when one of us is in trouble.

‘It wasn’t up to you to save us. We all could have done something. I could have tackled him, Minho could have speared him faster. We all could have done something, but he was one of us. We were all hoping that it wouldn’t end like that.’ I nod understanding what he is saying. It’s not just me who feels guilt over Chuck’s death. We all do in a way. I lean my head against his shoulder as he puts an arm round mine. Giving me a minute to stop crying, Newt rubs my arm. ‘You’re a bloody good shot.’ He comments, suddenly changing the topic. ‘I saw you get that guys hand. None of us would have made that.’ I give him a watery smirk.

‘Just one more way in which I’m superior to you, I suppose.’ I tease him lightly. He chuckles and kisses my forehead. I close my eyes and focus on the feeling. The instant his lips touch my head, a cool wave of calm fills me up balancing the slight heat in my stomach. What is that? Before I can reach an answer, Newt stands up holding out his hand to help me up as well.

‘You good?’ He asks. I smile and nod a tad. He smiles back and leads me back to the front of the store. We walk past Teresa who had managed to scrape together an outfit and is sat on a bed looking at a photo. I stop beside her. She looks up at me and hands me the picture.

‘Where do you think they went?’ She says still staring at the picture. I look down. It’s of a small girl with a huge teddy bear. I smile at her grin, then realise that if the picture is down here then she must have been as well. I look at Teresa who is staring at something on the far wall. Looking to see what it is, I notice the teddy bear from the picture propped up. Its fur is covered in dust.

‘They must have left in a hurry, to leave this much in supplies and for this little girl to leave her bear, something bad must have happened.’ I sigh at the thought.

‘That’s what I am afraid of.’ Teresa says ominously. I turn to continue back to the front when Teresa’s voice stops me. ‘I don’t think we should have left.’

I turn to look at her in shock. ‘What?’

‘They were trying to help us.’ She says quietly.

‘They were trying to harvest us, and succeeding.’ I splutter out, not understanding where this is coming from. The Teresa I know wouldn’t have wanted to go back. ‘Aris saw a girl he was in the maze with. Strung up. Being drained. Can you imagine? We couldn’t let that happen to any of you! That’s why we left.’ Teresa nods slightly, staying silent. ‘What’s going on with you?’

Before she can answer the room fills with light. Spinning round to look at Newt with wide eyes, I say, ‘You got everything here?’ He nods quickly as I run past him into the other rooms. Seeing Aris and Frypan in one room, I say, ‘Grab everything and prepare to run!’ Going back into the hallway I meetup with Winston and Jak.

‘What's going on?’ Jak says.

‘Have you got everything?’ I say. The pair nod.

‘Yep, cleared out these two.’ Winston says pointing behind him. Meeting up with Newt and Teresa, we stand in the corridor. Newt passes me my rucksack which is now heavier than it was.

‘Filled it.’ He says as he passes it. I smile and throw it on.

‘Hey!’ Thomas’ yells suddenly echo around the halls.

‘Shit,’ I say quietly. ‘Put your bags on!’

‘Hey!’

‘Run!’

‘Go!’ Minho and Thomas’ shouts of panic put me on edge instantly. The hoard of Cranks snarling and snapping running after them, throws me straight over that edge and into the depths of fear and panic. Spinning on my heel I start to sprint through the shopping centre. Sensing that no-one was following, I stop and turn. The others are still where I left them staring at Minho, Thomas and the cranks.

‘FUCKING RUN!!!’ I scream at them. Either this or the ever nearing hoard kicks them into gear as the turn and sprint towards me. Starting to run again I head towards some escalators. Moving up them quickly I yell back, ‘WHAT HAPPENED TO DON’T DO ANYTHING STUPID!!!!’ Thomas and Minho both make noises of apology, well as much as they can whilst sprinting up the stairs.

‘Thomas, Minho, what the hell are those things?’ Newt shouts.

‘I don't know. Just keep going!’ Thomas yells back. ‘Move! Move!’

‘Where do we go?’ Winston yells, panic fully set in his voice.

‘Up!’ I scream, ‘Keep going up!’

‘Come on, keep moving!’ Minho shouts. We sprint towards another escalator, and attract the attention of a Crank in front of us.

‘Shit,’ I say pulling back. Aris stands in front of me and prepares to attack the Crank.

‘Aris, no! No!’ Thomas shouts. Ignoring him, Aris runs forward and whips a baseball bat under the Cranks legs causing it to fall and slide into the base of the escalator. Unfortunately this now blocks the way for us to get up. Thomas and Teresa who were already on the stair, shout ‘Go! Go around!’

Following their advice we sprint round to the other side where another escalator stands. Sprinting up it we meet Thomas and Teresa at the top. Grabbing Teresa’s hand I run faster causing her to keep up with me. The boys all follow us at a similar pace. I spin my head round whilst running to try and find a way out.

‘Come on, come on! Where the hell are we gonna go?’ Frypan calls from behind me. Slowing slightly but pushing Teresa ahead I try to lock eyes with Thomas or newt to see what they think.

‘We gotta find a way out of here!’ Still moving I notice a crank running towards Newt behind a window.

‘Newt! Newt!’ I scream before lunging towards him and pushing Newt out the way. A huge crash alerts me to the Crank right in front of me.

‘Kira!’ Newt shouts, trying to recover his balance with the aid of Tommy. The Crank rushes towards me, with its arms outstretched. A sudden flash of training with Janson lets me know what to do. I grab the hands of the Crank whilst bending my knees, and using the Cranks own momentum, to flip it over my shoulder and send it sprawling onto the ground behind. Laughing in amazement at the fact that, that worked, I carry on sprinting to catch up with the boys.

‘Through here, through here!’ Minho is ushering us all through a door to the side of the hall. Coming into a much smaller hallway, we have to run single file to keep up the pace. Somehow I’m pushed up the line into the middle.

‘Let's go! They're coming!’ Tommy stops at a door and tries to yank it open. It won’t budge. Seeing that this isn’t going to work I slip past them, grab Teresa’s hand and keep running. ‘Run! It’s not going to work. Keep moving Go! Go!’ The others seem to quickly agree and follow. Moving fast we work our way down the corridor until we come to a dead end.

‘Shit.’ I say, ‘It's a dead end!’ I frantically start pushing at the doors on the left hand side. The right and left aren’t budging but the middle opens a little. Peering out I see that it’s only shut by a padlock and a worn hinge. ‘This one!’ I shout moving out of the way to let the boys and Teresa kick and push at the door.

‘I'll hold them back!’ Winston says. Running up beside him, I pull out my gun as well. Trying to get a fix on a target I notice one of the Cranks running perfectly straight. Taking aim I sound three shots. Two to the chest, one to the head. The Crack instantly falls to the floor. Winston turns to look at me in shock. I ignore this and continually hit the cranks.

‘Harder!’

‘Get that door open!’ Winston yells as more and more cranks appear. A _click_ lets me know I’m out of bullets.

‘I’m out!’ I shout as I quickly reach for another clip. Pressing a button on the side of my gun the empty clip drops out and I stuff the new one in. A Crank slips past Winston’s bullets and goes for him. I surge forward and kick the Crank in the face knocking it to the floor. I shot it once in the head to kill it and set my sights on the corridor again.

‘Move!’

‘Come on, Frypan! Let's go!’ A loud _clunk_ sound as Minho yells, ‘Come on! It's open!’

‘Everyone through!’

‘Come on! Come on!’ The others run out through the door in front of Winston and I. I go to let Winston in first but he pushes me through ahead of him. I stumble through but quickly snap back around when I hear a cry from behind me. One of the Cranks had Winston by his legs and is pulling him back.

‘Winston!’ I grab his arms and try to pull him out of the cranks grip. ‘Help me!’ I shout to the others. Newt and Frypan rush to help as Minho and Thomas push the door trying to keep any other Cranks from coming through. Teresa, Aris and Jak watch on in horror.

‘Help! Please! Please! Oh, my God!’ Winston’s cries make my skin crawl. Finally pulling him free, Frypan and Newt take an arm each and pull Winston to his feet.

‘Go, go, go!’ I shout running behind them, in case they lose their grip. ‘Hurry! Thomas, Minho, come on!’

‘Minho, go! I'm right behind you!’ Thomas shouts as Minho lets go of the door leaving Thomas on his own. Seconds later Thomas lets go to and sprints as fast as he can, trying to keep ahead of the Cranks. Coming around a corner we run into a ruined part of the centre. Walls have fallen down, making the floor uneven and difficult to run over. Making our way over it quickly and carefully, Jak sees a covered part.

‘Over here!’ he whispers to me grabbing my arm and getting the attention of the others. Crawling in, we stay tight together listening to the shrieks and moans of the Cranks searching for us. I breathe out a shallow breath clutching my gun to my chest with one hand. The other is firmly joined with Newt’s. I look at him and try to give him a smile, although I’m pretty sure it came out as more of a grimace. Leaning my head against his shoulder, I close my eyes and focus on his breathing.


	21. Winston

Chapter 4

I lay against Newt’s shoulder for a few hours waiting for everyone to fall asleep. He is warm and safe and I’m almost reluctant to move. However in the early hours of the morning, when the sun is just rising, I pull my head away gently and get up. Keeping quiet, I step over Teresa’s body and walk up the rubble to see where we are. Listening carefully for the faint noise of any Cranks, I watch for anything that will alert them to my presence. Once I am satisfied that they have gone, I lean on a nearby wall looking out at the scene in front of me.

It’s a city.

Well, what’s left of a city. My mind flicks back to the video, WICKED showed us. Towns, Cities, entire countries being wiped out by the flare. I guess with no-one around all the building fell into dis-repair. Focusing in on one building in particular, I see that the upper floors have crumbled into each other leaving huge holes and plenty of rubble littering the bottom ones. This would have been a sight, before the flare. Huge towering buildings, reaching far up into the sky. Higher than the maze walls. And no sand. That’s probably a side effect of the Scorch. Fires, and deadly sun rays, the video said. How did anyone survive it? Closing my eyes, I search through my sketchy memories to see if I have any from before the Scorch. Trying to push through the fog of the memory wipe, I see a few flashes of green. Grass, I think. I’m happy. Playing. I smile at the happy feeling encompassing me.

‘Am I interrupting?’ I open my eyes and turn to see Thomas making his way over. I smile.

‘No, just trying to remember life before all of this.’ I say, gesturing to the ruined city in front of us.

‘You can do that?’ He questions curiously.

‘A little bit.’ I shrug. ‘It’s like, getting stung, gave me an opening into my memories. I’ve been having flashes ever since.’

‘Like with Janson?’ He asks, now leaning against the wall next to me. ‘You said, you remembered him training you.’

I nod a little. ‘Most of that, I remembered back in the Glade after the Griever. But when I saw him, he looked familiar. I knew I has seen him before, but couldn’t place his face. I kept trying to find it, and finally I did. I watched as he taught me how to shoot, how to make fires, how to live off the land, that kind of thing. I didn’t connect the dots til we saw him with Ava. Then I knew. It was him. He was WICKED.’

‘You had suspicions before?’

‘Didn’t you?’ I chuckled looking at him. He nods gently.

‘It was all too convenient. How they turned up as soon as we got out.’ He says shaking his head.

I sigh. ‘I really wanted it to be true. I almost bought it. Seeing all those other kids. I almost…’ Shaking my head I say, ‘That would be too easy, wouldn’t it?’

Thomas laughs dryly. ‘Tell me about it. Do you think you could show me? How to remember?’

I smile, nod and sit on the floor cross-legged. Thomas copies me and sits opposite. ‘Close your eyes. Think back to what you remembered when you were stung. Try and flesh out those memories first.’

‘I’m sat at that control panel. Teresa is opposite me.’ He says quietly, his brows furrowing.

‘Okay, what happened next?’ I push.

‘Ava’s behind me. She’s putting her hand on my shoulder, telling me to come with her.’ I nod, not saying anything, trying to keep him in the moment. ‘She’s congratulating me? Saying that the trials are working better than expected, thanks to me; to my suggestion of training someone, and letting them start things off.’ I close my eyes at this. Tommy had said before that he is the reason I was put in first. His eyes open slowly. ‘It’s my fault. You going in was my fault.’ I take a quick breath before replying.

‘Tommy, without that training, I wouldn’t have survived that first month in the Glade. I would’ve died. And they probably would have sent Alby up anyway. Then Alby would have been on his own. You probably saved my life without even realising it.’ Tommy looks up at me, with unshed tears in his eyes. ‘Look at you, protecting us all from within WICKED. A regular double agent.’ I tease with a smile, poking his cheek. He laughs and bats my hand away.

‘Yeah alright.’ He chuckles, standing up.

‘Try and get some sleep, okay.’ I state, as he walks back to the others.

‘Yes Mum.’ He jokes before lying down and closing his eyes. I probably should try as well. Getting up, I take one last look at the deserted city before walking back to the other. Before I can lay down however, Winston’s whimpers alert me to his pain. Going to sit beside him I brush his hair from his sweaty forehead.

‘Deep breaths, Winston.’ I whisper quietly. He takes my advice and his breathing slows back to a normal pace. Leaning back against a rock, I keep stroking his head. I guess sleep, is a foreign concept right now. Resting my head, I close my eyes and focus on the group’s soft breaths, and the sound of the wind rushing through the buildings below.

‘Hey! Get out of here!’ A loud voice, pulls me from my sleep. I blink awake, to see Thomas shooing a crow away from his pack. My hand is still on Winston’s forehead, which has got increasingly clammy and hot. I look over at Newt who is smiling slightly at the sight. I smile back before getting up and stretching.

‘Are they gone?’ Newt asks me. I look around and listen carefully.

‘Yeah, I think we're safe for now.’ I say quietly, not wanting to attract more attention. I smirk slightly at Newt’s tousled hair. ‘It’s cute,’ a small voice in the back of my head says. It’s not lying. Newt notices me staring and tries to flatten it down. This make me giggle even more. Thomas has gotten up now and is slinging his pack on.

‘Okay, we should get moving. Let's pack it up. Aris, come on. Fry, Winston. Let's go.’ I help Teresa up from the corner she was sleeping in.

‘You okay?’ I ask gently. She nods and begins stuffing the jumper she was leaning on back into her bag. A groan from Winston, draws my eyes to him and Fry.

‘Hey, man. You okay?’ Fry says before giving him a hand up. In the night, I wrapped his stomach in cloth to try and stop the bleeding. I have no idea how the Flare virus works, but I do know that stopping the bleeding, always good. After getting together we make our way back up the rubble to the spot Tommy and I were sat earlier this morning.

Reaching the wall, Newt offers his hand to help me over. I smirk at the gesture, and his cheeks redden slightly. Taking the hand before he pulls it away, I step over and mess up his hair again. He laughs and attempts to push it down. Smiling slightly, I move past him to look at the city again. With more light, I can now see that the roads are filled with broken down cars and buses as far as the eye can see. The constant barrage of sand has worn down the paintwork so some are rusty and covered in sand whilst others have broken down almost to the metal exterior.

‘How long ago did this happen, do you think?’ I ask Newt.

‘I dunno, it must have taken years for it all to break up like this.’ Walking forward I kick something metal. Picking up a shell casing, I show it to Newt.

‘I bet this helped.’ I can’t imagine what life must have been like when people started getting infected. Widespread panic probably. Moving off the bridge we make our way down onto the road. I peer through the windows of some of the cars we pass. Entire lives packed into these small vehicles. Seeing something shining in one of them, I open the door and reach inside. Grasping hold of the object I pull it out. It’s a small digital camera. Pressing the small power button on the top, I’m surprised to see the screen flash on. Pressing the small triangle button on the side, I flick through the pictures on it. A family of 5 encompass a lot of these pictures. A mother and father and 3 children, I presume. One picture in particular makes me smile. The mother and father are sitting on chairs in front of the children smiling, whilst the kids make funny faces at their parent’s backs. I laugh even harder at the next picture which shows the parents turning round and laughing at their children mid face pulling. Newt comes up beside me as I show him the pictures. Flicking on, I get a sense of what this family’s life was like. Happy and full of laughter. Pictures detailing barbeques and parties, all with happy smiling faces. Flicking to the next one, I notice this is a video. Instantly pressing the play button, I watch in shock.

_The scene is dark and dim. Small patches of light shine through a window in the corner. As the camera pans round a dark shape moves near the wall. The camera focuses on the shape and it becomes clear. A woman is chained to the far wall. The woman from the photographs. Someone in the background is crying. A little girl._

_‘Mommy?’ She asks quietly. The woman just twitches. ‘Mommy?’ She’s asks again._

_‘Don’t get to close, sweetie.’ A deep man’s voice says from behind the camera. You can hear he’s been crying. His voice is rough and raw. The mother has her face turned away from the camera. Away from the light. The person holding the camera now speaks._

_‘Mom caught the flare 4 days ago.’ He’s young. Teenager maybe? ‘We’ve kept her down here, in the hope she will get better. She’s just been getting worse. The news has been saying that people that get infected, don’t get better. That they start seeing things, turn angry; almost rabid. Maybe she’ll be the first. We’ve heard rumours of someone starting to look for a cure. Maybe it’ll be done before we catch it. But Dad says it’s too late for Mom. Every report we’ve heard of says that in a week, they are lost. That they won’t know who we are. That they will try and kill us.’ A loud howling comes from the woman. The little girl starts crying again._

_‘Carl, take Amy upstairs.’ The Dad says solemnly. ‘You don’t need to see this.’ Shuffling feet signal that the younger two children have left._

_‘She makes these noises every night. We haven’t slept since it got her. Mrs Bayfield next door said that Mr. B started trying to rip his limbs off. Biting and clawing at them, to break free. We can’t let that happen to Mom. We can’t.’ The camera turns away from the woman, and shows the face of the boy holding the camera. He looks about 16. Far too young to be seeing this. Tear tracks cake his dirty face. ‘We’re recording this to show you why we did it, and to remind ourselves the same thing. We’re leaving in the morning. We’ve heard talk about some sort of haven in the mountains, away from the Scorch, away from the Flare. Somewhere safe. We don’t know how true these rumours are. But for Carl and Amy’s sake, we have to try.’ The camera now turns towards the ground, only giving us a view of the dirty basement floor._

**_BANG_ **

I stare at the image on the screen. Tears flowing freely down my cheeks. Throughout the video, the others have surrounded us to watch. Pressing the next button, another video sign pops up. I look at Newt.

‘Play it.’ He whispers, not taking his eyes off the screen.

_We’re in a car now. The view in front of us is a stream of red brake lights._

_‘It seems like everybody else had the same idea.’ The boys voice states. ‘We packed up and left 3 days ago and have only made it as far as the city. The roads have been like this the whole way. Everybody is trying to get to the mountains.’ A sudden **CRASH** and sounds of gunfire suddenly fill the air. Screams from in front of them penetrate our ears. _

_‘Daddy, what is that?’ Amy cries from the back of the car. We see people getting out their cars and running past us, trying to escape…something._

_‘Everybody out!’ The dad shouts. The camera is shut off, but not before we see hordes of Cranks running towards the family._

Shaking, I flick to the next image. It’s back to the start. That’s the last entry. I try to take a deep breath but it comes out shaky and soft.

‘So that’s what we’re facing.’ Thomas says after a minute of standing in silence. He walks off followed by the others leaving Newt, Teresa and I still standing. Teresa gave me a look full of meaning and left.

‘I always thought not being able to remember was a curse. Maybe it’s for the best.’ Newt whispers beside me. I nod numbly, before putting the camera in my bag and trailing after the others. A hand works its way into mine as we walk. I’m grateful. He’s almost holding me up, just by that small touch.

Doubt flickers through me as we walk. Did we do the right thing? How many other families are suffering like that one? I quickly shake these thoughts from my head. Nothing is worth draining an entire generation of their blood for a cure. As harsh as it sounds, I refuse to become that cure. I am a human being, who has been put through hell, trying to live. And I am sure as hell going to do that. I refuse to become part of the machine. I won’t.

Making our way past a fallen bridge, I speed up to walk next to Aris. He acknowledges me with a timid smile.

‘That’s twice you’ve saved my life now, you know.’ I say quietly so only he and Newt can hear me. He looks at me confused. ‘Back in the centre. The Crank in front of the escalator. You stood in front of me, and then took that thing down. Thank you.’ He smiles more broadly this time.

‘Any of the others would have done it.’

‘The others have known me a lot longer than you have.’ I reason.

‘You and Thomas got me out. I owe you.’ He says quietly looking at the floor.

‘Not any more you don’t.’ I smile wrapping my free arm round his shoulder and squeezing. ‘Welcome to the family.’ He chuckles at this, but grins nonetheless. He then turns to look at me again.

‘You said twice?’ His brows furrow. I smile gently.

‘Back in the facility, if you hadn’t gone to open that door, Janson would have got us. All of us. And if you hadn’t noticed something weird going on, before we even got there, it would have taken Thomas and I too long to figure it out. We all would be in that room. Just like the others. We wouldn’t have stood a chance. Getting you out was the least we could do.’ Squeezing his shoulder again, we continue to walk.

  
Making it past the huge traffic jam we pass over a bridge. I step up to the side at look over to see more traffic below. Looking further up, I can see another bridge, in which a train has derailed and gone off the side. I look at Newt, ‘How many people died, just trying to get out of the city?’ He squeezes my hand. This isn’t an answer but it’ll do.

  
About midday, we reach another built up area. This is even more derelict than the first. Entire buildings have crumbled to the ground leaving nothing but dust, sand and rubble. A walkway goes right through the middle of this section. Cars and rubble are pushed up towards the side making a clear path for us to walk on. Something at the back of my brain is telling me to get off the road, but ignore this and carry on moving.

‘What the hell happened to this place?’ Frypan asks from up front.

‘I don't know. It doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long time.’ Newt answers, looking over to me. I nod in agreement and keep looking around. My senses are on high alert, but I don’t want to let on to the others. No point in worrying them for no reason.

‘I hope the whole world's not like this.’ Aris says dejectedly. I can see where he is coming from. Everywhere we have seen so far, has been desert or broken, derelict city. A low rumbling catches my attention and I stop sharp.

‘What is it?’ Newt asks quickly.

‘Do you hear that?’ I whisper. It sounds almost like a machine. A car or a plane or a helicopter! My eyes dart to the skies.

‘Hang on, stop.’ Thomas says, trying to focus in on the sound.

‘You hear it too?’ I whisper. He nods ever so slightly. The sound gets louder and louder.

‘Get down! Everybody, hide! Hide! Hide!’ I say pushing Newt towards a covered area to our left. Pushing him in, I check to see if everybody else is in before I crouch in myself. Just as I duck down a huge aircraft flies overhead. It is followed by two smaller helicopters. I think it is obvious who they belong to.

‘Oh, shit.’ Newt whispers from beside me.

‘They're never gonna stop looking for us, are they?’ Minho says to me. I shake my head slowly. I doubt it. I don’t get it though. Why us? Why are we so important? There were hundreds of kids going through that facility according to Aris. Why follow us? Because we escaped? They aren’t looking for the ones the Right Arm took? Using my arm to push myself back up again I feel the stitches in my arm break. 

'Shit,’ I whisper as blood starts to soak into my sleeve. Placing my bag on the floor, I reach in and rip a piece of cloth from an extra shirt I found in the shopping centre. Newt kneels down next to me and takes it from me. Wrapping it tightly round my arm, he doesn’t say a word.

‘You okay?’ I ask him quietly. He nods, before standing up and offering his hand. I take it and stand up as well. I give him a small smile which he returns. Zipping up my bag, I throw it back on and catch up with the others.

In open spaces, we move slightly quicker than we were before causing the niggling in my head to recede back. We climb up several huge rockslides to progress on through the city. I try to keep an eye on Winston as his face gets greyer and his breathing gets heavy. Putting my hand on his shoulder, I say ‘If you need a break…’ He shakes his head before I can finish.

‘We need to keep moving.’ He whispers, between each heavy breath. Nodding my head, I throw a worried glance at Newt. Standing at the bottom of one particularly big hill, I push ahead and whisper to Newt, ‘Can you stay behind Winston? Just in case.’ He smiles at the familiar phrase before nodding.

‘Everyone good?’ Tommy calls from behind me. Reaching the top of the hill, I am faced with the sheer challenge of what we are aiming for. In front of me, is a large expanse of desert, And in the distance is a faint glimmer of the mountains. I won’t say anything until we are closer. Hopefully seeing them will give a tad of a moral boost. Carefully climbing down the other side I walk underneath a huge bridge before we are faced with yet another hill, except this one is made entirely of sand. I give Minho a slight grin before pelting up the side of the hill. He laughs and follows me quickly. One step in front of the other. Move, move, move. I can hear Minho’s breathing getting closer. I can see the top of the hill now.

‘A little further, guys.’ Thomas calls behind him. I don’t look back, still focusing on the summit. I reach the top first, obviously, and look out at the horizon. The mountains are clearer now.

‘You cheated.’ Minho breathes heavily. I chuckle and say, ‘Kira – 1, Boys – Nil.’ He gives me a cheeky grin, before throwing his arm round my shoulder. I laugh before throwing it off in mock disgust.

‘You’re all sweaty!’ He laughs as the others join us. Newt takes my hand gently as Minho says, ‘Oh I see how it is. You don’t throw him off you!’ I roll my eyes with a smirk and focus in the horizon.

‘Those mountains, that's gotta be it. That's where we're going.’ I look below the mountains at the huge amount of distance we will have to travel to make it. Buildings are poking out of the sand. Whole neighbourhoods completely covered by it.

‘That's a long way off.’ Newt says echoing my exact thoughts.

Thomas nods. ‘Then we better get moving.’ Hearing Winston’s breathing get heavier and heavier, I stick out an arm to stop him from toppling back down the hill. He goes to take a step forward and falls forward towards the sand. Rushing forward to grab him, I catch my arm and am thrown to the ground beside him. Pulling my arm out from underneath him, I grab his face and turn it to prevent him from breathing in any sand. Winston gasps, like he is trying to catch his breath in an oxygen free room.

‘Winston! Hey, Winston!’ I call, trying to get his attention. The others all rush to his side.

‘Winston!’ Jak shouts.

‘He's hurt pretty bad.’ Thomas states. No shit! I hold back from rolling my eyes at that obvious statement.

‘What do we do?’ Teresa says, panic creeping in to her voice.

‘Shit.’ Thomas stands and looks at the mountains.

‘Winston. Can you hear me? It's okay.’ Newt says as I stroke Winston’s face trying to calm him down.

‘Winston, you need to slow your breathing. Deep breathes, okay.’ Standing up I say, ‘I need your packs, now.’ Everyone gives me their packs and I sift through trying to find anything useful. I take the rope from Newt’s pack and, with Jak’s help, bind together the spears we had managed to pick up on route. Using blankets and spare clothing I make a crude stretcher, than we can drag Winston along on. ‘Here, move him onto this.’ I say trying to stay calm. Thomas grabs his legs whilst Fry and Jak put a shoulder under each arm to lift him over. Once he is on, I say, ‘Can you lift him?’ Minho and Fry both take a side at the front and drag Winston along. Everyone else packs up their stuff and follows.

Making our way over the desert, I walk up in front with Thomas and Newt.

‘Hang in there, Winston.’ Minho whispers from behind us. We keep walking until it gets dark. We use the stretcher up the hills and the boys carry Winston down them, whilst Teresa and I carry the stretcher. We stop every couple of hours so I can check on how Winston is doing and to have a quick rest. On one of these breaks, I am beside Winston dabbing his flaming head with a wet cloth. Giving the cloth to Teresa I walk over to Thomas and Newt, who are talking by the side.

‘How is he?’ Thomas asks hopefully. I shake my head.

‘Worse.’ Newt wraps his arms around my shoulders and pulls me in for a hug. Joining my hands round his back, I breathe in his smell. ‘I can’t help him.’ I whisper into Newt’s chest.

‘What?’ he asks.

‘I can’t help him. He’s going to die and there is nothing I can do about it.’ I say lifting my head from his chest. I sigh and try to pull away. Newt grips on tight.

‘Your right. There’s nothing you can do. Don’t be so hard on yourself.’ I look up at him before nodding. I turn round to get my pack and notice a haze over the desert from the west.

‘What is that?’ I point towards it.

‘I dunno,’ Thomas says, ‘But it’s moved closer in the last 5 minutes, we need to move.’ Grabbing our stuff, we head off again towards the mountains.

Turns out that haze, was a sandstorm. Wrapping my hood tightly around my face, I try to block my mouth, nose and eyes from the sand. As the boys are looking after Winston, it’s up to me and Teresa to find shelter. I notice a fallen concrete post with almost a dugout underneath.

‘There!’ I shout pointing at it, before running towards it. We lay Winston down in the centre of the dugout, trying to protect him from the sand with our bodies. We stand there for hours waiting for the storm to die down. Eventually it does and we all sit and try and get some rest. Newt stands by the edge of the dugout, keeping watch. I doubt he can see much, but it reassures me to know he’s there. Thomas and Minho are sat by the fire in silence whilst Teresa sits by herself, gripping her arms and trying not to cry. Jak and Frypan are leant up against one of the walls, fast asleep; the last few days finally catching up with them. I walk round the fire towards the sleeping pair. Bending down I tuck the blanket more tightly round them. Smiling as Jak shifts in his sleep, I finally settle beside Winston. His breathing is even faster now. I dab his head, trying to make him more comfortable. He turns his head towards me.

‘I’m gonna die, aren’t I.’ He whispers.

‘We don’t know that.’ I say, ignoring what my brain is telling me. He nods down to his chest.

‘I do.’ He says. Frowning, I lift up his shirt. His stomach had completely shed its skin. All the muscles are a sickly grey colour with blue veins sticking out of them. So much of his chest is gone I can see his heart beating. I gasp at the sight. ‘Told you.’ He whispers again. I stand up, needing to talk to Newt.

‘I’ll be right back, okay?’ I walk past Newt motioning for him to follow me.

‘What is it?’ He asks grabbing my shaking hands.

‘He’s turning into one of them.’ I say quickly.

‘What?’ He says, his face showing a mixture of confusion and horror.

‘He’s turning into a Crank. Is that what happens, you get bitten and you turn into one!’ I run my hands through my hair. It is sticky and greasy from the heat.

‘What do mean he is turning into one?’ Newt says grabbing my arms and looking me dead in the eye. Before I can elaborate, a gunshot sounds from the dugout. I dart towards the noise.

‘Hey!’ Frypan yells.

‘Guys, get down here!’ Aris yells to Teresa and Thomas who are talking on top of the mountain. Running into the dugout, Frypan has a gun in his hand and Winston is crawling on the floor. I run over to Winston.

‘What's going on?’ Newt questions as he reaches us.

‘What happened?’ Teresa and Thomas have reached us now. I try to get him to calm down but he keeps moving out of my grasp.

‘Winston…’ I try.

‘I don't know. He just woke up and grabbed the gun and then he tried to...’ Frypan splutters trying to explain the previous events to the others.

‘Give it back, please.’ Winston groans, trying to reach for it.

‘Winston, are you okay?’ Thomas comes to crouch beside us. Winston suddenly jerks out of the way and retches black goo all over the sand. I recoil back from the sight before moving toward him and helping him to lie down.

‘It's growing...inside me.’ Winston whines as he lifts his shirt to show the others what I saw earlier. They gasp and move backwards trying to understand what is happening. I look over at Newt, before flicking my eyes to the gun in Frypan’s hand. ‘I'm not gonna make it.’ He says finally looking at us all individually. ‘Please. Please. Don't let me turn into one of those things. I can’t turn into that woman. I can’t.’ He reaches towards the gun again now. I look up at Newt feeling the tears begin to prick in my eyes. Looking towards Winston now, I lock eyes with him. ‘Please Kira.’ I nod my head ever so gently before holding my shaking hand out for the gun.

‘Wait, Newt...’Thomas says, as Newt takes the gun from Frypan and kneels down next to us. Handing the gun to me, he puts the other hand on Winston’s shoulder.

‘Thank you.’ Winston says softly. ‘Now, get outta here.’

Squeezing my hand, Newt says, ‘Good-bye, Winston.’ I can feel the tears spilling onto my cheeks now. I inch backwards so Minho and Frypan can say goodbye.

Minho kneels next to Winston, not saying a word. Everything that he needs to say, he says using his eyes. ‘Go.’ Winston says gently.

I look up at Teresa who is giving Thomas and I identical looks. I’m guessing she told him she wants to go back to WICKED. Jak is stood behind her, not sure what to do. I nod at him, and he comes forward. He kneels down next to Winston and squeezes his shoulder.

‘Keep strong, Jak.’ Winston whispers. Jak smiles, turns and leaves. Thomas’ eyes lock with Winston’s. ‘It's okay.’ He tells him.

‘I'm sorry.’ Thomas whispers holding back tears. He turns to look at me. I shake my head.

‘I’ll join you in a minute.’ Thomas nods his head and leaves. It’s just Winston and I now. I shuffle back towards him and stroke his hair from his eyes.

‘We made it out.’ He whispers. The tears are cascading down my cheeks now.

‘I’m so sorry.’ I whisper. ‘You made it out. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. You saved me. If you had gone first through that door, it’d be me lying there right now.’

‘Guess I did something right then.’ Winston whispers, a small smirk making it onto his face. I give him a watery smile. ‘You look after them, okay.’

I nod, not being able to get any more words out.

‘You better give that to me.’ He whispers nodding to the gun. I shake my head.

‘I’m not letting you die alone.’ I whisper.

‘Kira…’ He starts. I shake my head and stroke back his hair again.

‘Close your eyes. Think back to the Glade. To the grass. And the trees. And the laughter.’ A smile works its way onto his face. A genuine smile, not one tinged with pain. ‘Think about the parties, the bonfires, the alcohol.’ I finish with a laugh. Winston is full on beaming now. I lean the gun against his head. His eyes stay closed, and the smile stays in place. ‘Goodbye,’ I whisper.

**BANG**

Letting my hand drop to his neck, I feel for any signs of a pulse. When I feel none. I stand up, collect my things and leave the dugout. I walk past Thomas, and Frypan. Past Teresa and Aris. Past Minho and Jak. Past Newt. I keep walking, without looking at any of them in the eye.

That night we sit around a campfire, not saying a word. Aris comes in from collecting wood, and sits down beside me.

‘I thought we were supposed to be immune.’ Minho says finally.

‘Not all of us, I guess.’ Teresa states.

‘If Winston can get infected... we should assume so can the rest of us.’ Newt tries to catch my eye, but I can’t look at him. I can’t look at any of them.

‘I never thought I'd say it...’ Frypan starts. ‘I miss the Glade.’ At this I get up, and walk away from the fire. I hate to admit it, but I do too.

Leaning against a log, I sit back and close my eyes. I would say it’s because I’m tired, but it’s really to stop myself crying again. I open my eyes when a familiar presence comes and sits next to me.

‘You get why I did it, right?’ I say quietly.

‘Same reason you did it to Hank.’ He states, curling an arm round my shoulders. I nod.

‘I couldn’t let him die alone.’ My voice cracks and I almost lose my composure but I reel it in. ‘Not out here.’

Newt squeezes my shoulder pulling my head into the crease of his neck. ‘Frypan didn’t mean it you know. He was just letting off steam.’ I nod gently.

Focusing on the pattern on his scarf, I whisper, ‘Did we make a mistake, escaping the maze?’ Newt reels back his head to look at me.

‘Are you kidding?’ He says sharply. ‘We were dead in there.’

‘We’re dead out here.’ I say dejectedly.

‘Stop it.’ He snaps. ‘Don’t be stupid. In there, we were gonna die, no matter what. Out here, we at least have a chance. Out here, were free.’ I mull over what he says. He’s right, obviously. Kira - 1, Boys - 1.

‘Yeah I know.’ I say. ‘I wish we had an option in which no-one dies.’ He chuckles.

‘That would be too easy.’ He says. Sighing, I pull myself in close to Newts chest. His arms tighten around me and for the first time, since we entered the Scorch, I feel completely safe.

‘When was the last time you slept properly?’ Newt whispers.

I think back to the last time I got more than an hours sleep. ‘Probably the Glade.’ I say, shocked it has been so long. Newt pulls away and stands up. Grabbing my hands he pulls me up as well. He takes off the red scarf from around his neck and wraps it snugly round mine.

‘Better?’ He asks with a grin. I giggle at his expression.

‘Better.’ Taking my hand we walk back to the campfire, hopefully to get some sleep.


	22. Travelling

Chapter 5

We pack up in the dark the next morning. The tension is tangible. Stuffing my stuff back into my pack, I sneak a look across the fire at Teresa. What happened to her in the WICKED facility? What does she know that we don’t, that makes her think its ok to harvest people? To make her think that we were wrong in leaving? I sigh putting those thoughts to the back of my mind as Newt says, ‘So, which way?

I smile at him. ‘That way,’ I say pointing north. The group makes a small noise of agreement and begin to walk. I tuck Newt’s scarf around my neck a bit tighter to stop the morning chill penetrating my body too much before heading off after the others. I notice Frypan slowing his pace so he walk with me. We walk in silence for about 5 minutes; well I say silence but the noise of the gears working in Frypan’s head make enough noise to alert me to his thoughts.

‘Are you okay?’ I say quietly. He looks at me, first with a surprised look, which them morphs into one of apology.

‘I’m sorry, for what I said last night. About missing the Glade. I didn’t mean it.’ Frypan whispers, starting at the ground.

I chuckle a little bit. ‘Yeah you did.’ He looks up sharply, but I continue to smile gently. ‘Although I’m not sure you meant it like that. I’m not sure any of us could miss being trapped in the centre of a maze, surrounded by things trying to kill us.’ He chuckles a bit at this. ‘But,’ I continue, ‘I miss our friends. I miss the comradery. I miss the small ounce of safety we felt inside the glade, as long as we didn’t go into the maze, we would be fine. Out here, there’s none of that. There’s only 8 of us left, and the majority of the time, we’re in mourning, or running away from… someone. There’s no safe place, not yet.’ I smile at Frypan who is still looking at me. ‘If we find the Right Arm,’ I start.

‘ _When_ , we find the Right Arm,’ Frypan interrupts. I nod my head, laughing softly.

‘ _When_ , we find the Right Arm, then we might find that safe place we all need.’ Frypan grabs my hand.

‘Thank you,’ He says. I furrow my brows.

‘What for?’ I ask.

‘For getting us out of the maze, for getting us away from WICKED… for staying with Winston.’ He looks down at this. I squeeze his hand.

‘I’d do the same for all of you.’ He nods.

‘I know. Your one strong son of a bitch.’ I full on laugh this time. Frypan joins in as the rest of the group turns round. We must look a sight. The pair of us stood in the middle of a desert, joined hands and tears leaking from our eyes.

Once we have calmed down and taken a few deep breaths, Frypan squeezes my hand, and then goes up front to walk with Jak and Aris. I take this moment alone to look around at our surroundings. Sand, sand and more sand. I could see nothing in the distance as a large hill blocked the horizon. Speeding up my pace I start to climb the hill, pushing harder and harder, trying to reach the top to see how far we had to go. The hazy image of mountains in the distance brought a small smile to my face. We were getting closer. Slowly, but we were.

We stopped for the night in a small town. The buildings were mainly crumbling and falling down, but we managed to find one that had enough shelter for us to spend the night. Sat by the fire, I rub my arms as the air around us gets increasingly cool. Spirits seem to have picked up a bit from this morning; Aris, Jak and Frypan are sat to the left of me, laughing about something or other, whilst Newt, Tommy and Minho are plotting to the right. Teresa as usual is sat on her own, knees tight to her chest. I catch her eye and nod over to the far corner before getting up. I hear her shuffling behind me so don’t look back. Resting on a fallen piece of concrete, I cross my arms and look at her.

‘You wanna tell me what happened?’ I say quietly so the others can’t hear me. Out of the corner of my eye I see Newt and Thomas watching us.

‘What do you mean?’ Teresa says, shrugging her shoulders. I cock and eyebrow and stare. Teresa’s eyes fall to the ground. She can’t even look at me.

‘At WICKED,’ I clarify, bringing her attention back to me. Teresa sighs a bit and settles herself next to me.

‘Nothing.’ She says finally.

‘Are you kidding?’ I say. ‘Teresa, what happened? You’re not the same as before. In the maze, all you wanted to do was to get away from WICKED, and now you wanna go back to them?’ She shakes her head, slowly. ‘Please. Just tell me what happened. We can help. I promise.’ Teresa shifts a bit as tears collect in her eyes. I reach out to take her hand.

‘They gave me back my memories.’ She whispers quickly. My hand halts in the air.

‘What?’ I breathe out. Did she say what I think she just said? They gave her back her memories.

‘I remember everything. What life was like before the flare, and before we were taken by WICKED. Our lives at WICKED. Thomas and I worked for them because we believed in what we were doing. We truly believed we were doing the right thing.’ She implores, trying to get me to understand.

‘So what,’ I start, ‘you feel guilty, or some sort of loyalty to them. They lost the right to ask that of you as soon as they put you in the maze.’ Teresa shakes her head again.

‘It’s not that.’

‘Then what?’ I say, gripping her hand tightly.

‘I still believe that they’re doing the right thing.’ I barely hear her this time. Her voice is so quiet that I don’t think she even heard what she was saying. But I caught it. I understood what she said. My hand drops from hers as I stare at her. ‘Kira.’ She reaches for my hand again, but I shoot backwards and away from her. How can she…? How dare she…? ‘They’re trying to cure people. People like that woman in the video. There are thousands of people suffering, all over the world. WICKED are trying to cure the Flare. The only way that the doctors have found is through us. They took an oath to protect the world. We all did. And that’s what they’re doing. Curing people.’ I’m stood up now, still staring at Teresa in horror. I flick my eyes over to the camp. No-one has seen us. Turning back towards Teresa, I tilt my head to hint to her that we should go slightly further from the camp. She sighs and nods.

Walking further away, I try to push down the anger threatening to bubble over the surface. ‘Let her explain,’ my brain says. ‘You know her. She wouldn’t say this unless she had a reason.’ I turn to face her, looking expectant.

‘What do you want me to say?’ She whispers.

‘Something that makes all this shit make sense. Because right now it doesn’t.’ My voice quivers from fury.

‘I took an oath,’ she starts.

‘To protect the world.’ I finish, ‘Not harvest it. How is that protecting us?’ My voice raises slightly this time, before I notice and bring it down again.

‘If we don’t do something an entire generation will die.’ Teresa cries.

‘Isn’t that exactly what WICKED is doing? Killing an entire generation, so _they_ can live?’ I can feel the heat rising in my face, anger forcing its way to the surface.

‘Not all of our generation are immune…’ Teresa starts, but at this point I have had enough.

‘But most are! I’m sorry but I refuse to give up my life and the lives of the people I love so that monsters like WICKED can live. After everything they have put us through, our entire lives taken away and forced to partake in some sick test, we deserve to live. To be free. We deserve to make our own lives, our own choices. To fall in love and have children and families. Everything. We weren’t born, solely to be slaughtered like meat for others gain. Don’t get me wrong, if they can find another way, then be my guest. They can have blood and tissue samples and whatever else, but if at the end of day, I can’t go home and live my life then…’ I shrug my shoulders at this point. She gets what I mean. ‘I won’t give them my life. Not again. Not that.’ Teresa is shaking her head, tears falling down her face.

‘But there are so many people suffering. People that need a cure now! I’m trying to be realistic!’

‘Then you go back.’ I burst. ‘I won’t stop you. Go. Let them harvest you for the cure. But they are not having us.’ Teresa’s breathing is starting to get heavy, I can tell she is getting angry too.

‘BUT THEY DON’T EVEN WANT YOU!’ She shouts. I quickly look over to the camp. Newt is staring back at us, looking confused.

‘We’re okay.’ I call back. Newt nods and begins talking to the others again. I spin round to look at Teresa.

‘How do you know that?’ I ask coldly, glaring at her.

‘They told me. They said that you were special. That you weren’t like the others. That they had been ordered not to take you.’ I try to look surprised even though I already knew. I can tell I’m not that convincing. ‘Did you know?’ She asks quietly, looking at me curiously. I groan at the headache starting to form at the base of my skull. I nod gently.

‘When we were in the harvesting room,’ I saw Teresa wince at the name I had given it. Serves her right, I thought. ‘Ava told Janson not to take me. That I was too valuable.’ I thought back to the look on her face. If pound signs could of flashed in her eyes, they would’ve. I dread to think what would be waiting for me, if I got brought back.

‘Then why do you care?’ This quiet statement shook me out of my memories and made me come crashing down to the present with a wallop.

‘Why do I care?’ I look at her, but I no longer feel like I’m staring at the same person. My Teresa would have got why I cared. ‘No-one deserves that. No-one deserves to be strung up and drained of everything. Especially not our family.’

‘But they’re not your family. They’re just kids that WICKED put in the maze with you. You’re real family could be out there. Suffering.’ I shake my head, remembering what I had remembered after I was stung.

‘They’re not.’ I say simply, glaring at Teresa harder.

‘What do you mean?’

‘My mother is dead. WICKED killed her. Shot her, because she wouldn’t give me up. Dunno about my father. Probably dead as well.’ Her lifeless body haunts my thoughts as I look down at the ground. The sound of my own childish cries fill my ears.

‘I’m sor…’

‘Don’t! Those boys are my family. They are everything I know and love. Everything I hold dear. I thought you were my family too; guess I was wrong.’ Teresa looked at me, shock plastered all over her face, tears dripping down onto her chest.

‘Kira.’ She whispers. I shake my head, laughing bitterly.

‘No. They took my memories. They took all of our memories. They put us together and forced us to face the worst things they could imagine. To test us.’ I look at Teresa, who is now looking at floor. ‘We don’t know much about this world, but if all people share their views, maybe they should be wiped out. People that think it’s okay, to torture children, then let them think that they have been rescued only then to string them up and use them as a cure, should not be in control of this world. We could start again. Our children would be immune and so would their children. We could rebuild the world, and soon enough the Flare would die out and so would the cranks.’ Teresa looks up, as if she can’t believe what I am saying.

‘How can you say that?’

‘Just being realistic,’ I bitterly echo her words back to her. She gapes at me. I turn away as tears begin to fall down my cheeks. I didn’t mean what I said. I don’t want to wipe out all of the generation above. I’m just so angry, and hurt. How could she do this to us? Wiping away my tears, I turn round again. ‘Did you ever see it? The room.’ Teresa shakes her head. ‘There were hundreds of people. Hundreds of children. All of whom have come from mazes just like ours.’

‘I know…’ Teresa starts.

‘No.’ I interrupt, putting up a finger. ‘You don’t know. You were there for a few days. You didn’t experience half of what we went through in there. You just sat, watching, in your comfy chair, safe, whilst we struggled. Our friends died, our family. How long did you watch us for?’ Teresa hangs her head in shame.

‘Since the beginning.’

‘Do you remember George?’ She nods slowly. ‘He was always smiling, always wanted to help. To do his bit. But he died. Because of WICKED. He was 13 years old. He probably had a family out here, waiting for him.’ I pause for a second. ‘Jackson, Hank, Stephen, Nick, Jay, Alby, Jeff, Clint, Chuck, Gally, Winston and all the others that died because of WICKED, …was worth it? Over 40 children died in their test, and that was just our maze. There were hundreds of mazes. Thousands of people died. Millions of children were put through that. And for what, to be strung up. Look,’ I sigh, ‘I’m not blaming you. As much as it sounds like I am, I’m not. You were brought up being told that WICKED is good. That what they’re doing is right. And them giving you back your memories, that just solidified that. You’re a good person, I know that. It’s just frustrating to see that they have twisted and manipulated you. And maybe we have too. Only knowing the bad things that WICKED have done, to us, that’s probably manipulated our view of them. But please, don’t take away our choice.’ I walk up to Teresa and wipe the tears of her face with my thumb. I never meant to hurt her. ‘You can go back, if you want. I won’t stop you. I won’t tell the others why. But if you stay, you have to stop feeling guilty. The others are noticing.’ I give her a small smile and begin to walk to the camp.

‘I’ll stay.’ She says. ‘I’ve got your back.’ I nod before continuing back. As we reach the fire, the others all look up.

‘Everything okay?’ Thomas says. I nod.

‘Yeah, you know, girl-talk.’ The boys all groan before Jak says, ‘What’s girl-talk?’ The others laugh as Teresa and I sit back down. I settle myself between Newt’s legs whilst Teresa sits close to Thomas, whispering to him. I lean my head back against his chest which rumbles when he asks, ‘Do we wanna know what you two were gossiping about?’ I laugh quietly before saying, ‘Probably not.’ He laughs before kissing the top of my head. I hate lying to him. ‘Where’s Minho?’

‘Gone to check the perimeter. You know he doesn’t like staying still for too long.’ I make a small noise of agreement. Closing my eyes, I take deep breath try to relax. Newt’s body temperature takes the edge of the chill starting to set in.

‘We should play a game.’ Jak says suddenly. I open one eye and look at him.

‘Like what?’ Frypan asks.

‘How about the story game?’ Minho’s voice comes from behind us. I crane my neck round to find him and see him sauntering over from one of the doors.

‘What’s that?’ Teresa asks quietly. I smile. At least she’s participating now.

‘It’s a game Kira made up ages ago. We’re sat in a circle and one person starts off saying a word. The next person in the circle says another word, and in the end it creates a weird story. For example…’ Frypan clears his throat loudly. ‘Once.’ He looks over at Minho, who says, ‘Upon.’

Newt. ‘A’

Me. ‘Time.’

We look over at Thomas. ‘There.’

Teresa. ‘Was.’

Jak. ‘A.’

Aris. ‘Dog?’ We all laugh. This is going to be a weird one.

Frypan. ‘The.’

Minho. ‘Dog’s.’

Newt. ‘Name.’

Me. ‘Was.’

Thomas. ‘Mark.’ We all laugh again.

‘Mark? What a great name for a dog?’ Minho chuckles.

Teresa. ‘Mark.’

Jak. ‘Went.’

Aris. ‘For.’

Frypan. ‘A.’

Minho. ‘Doctor’s.’

Newt. ‘Appointment?’ What was this turning into? Anyway basically it ended with Mark the dog going to the doctors because it had a cold. The doctors telling him there was nothing they could do except amputate his nose. (Blame Minho for the dodgy turn.) The aliens came and took Mark to their planet to become the king. The End.

Don’t ask me how it turned to that. That’s the great thing about that game. You never know where it is going to lead. After a couple more rounds, including one about a man who lost his house and a war over chicken, we decided to call it a night. I leaned back against Newt again, massaging my aching tummy (I had laughed so much it had started to hurt) and closed my eyes. They turned heavy almost instantly. I felt a warm cover being put over us and Newt murmuring to someone about something, although at this point I was barely listening anymore. Just before I dropped off, I felt a warm arm work its way round my middle. I smiled before finally letting myself go.

**Ava is staring at me. I’m sat in a room. I look around and take notice of the white walls and concrete floor.**

**‘Florence.’ She says. I don’t respond. That’s not my name, I feel myself thinking. ‘Florence.’ Once again I ignore her. ‘Kira,’ she snaps. I finally look up at her and give her a sweet smile.**

**‘Yes?’ I say politely, aware that this is annoying the shit out of her, and loving it.**

**She sighs irritably. ‘You know why you have not been placed with the other children. Correct?’**

**I nod my head and repeat back what she has said again and again. ‘Because I’m special. I’m different. Because you have spent too much time, money and energy on me to place me with the rabble.’ I add a bit extra on the end with a smirk. Ava obviously doesn’t appreciate my wit.**

**She nods stiffly towards the door. I get up and begin to follow her. We walk down several long hallways in silence. Coming round a corner, I begin to hear voices. Laughter and shouting. She turns to look at me, and nods at one of the windows on the wall. I walk up and look through. The room is full of children, some the same sort of age as me and some younger. They are laughing and talking to each other. Completely clueless. I stare at them. These are “the others” then. A dull ache in my chest forces me to look away.**

**‘This is why you are being kept separate. We are training you to protect them. To keep them alive.’ I furrow my brows and look up at her.**

**‘What does that mean?’ I ask. She smiles slightly before walking off down the corridor again. I take one last look through the window before following. Keeping my head down I follow Ava through several more corridors before emerging into more familiar territory. The shooting gallery.**

**Walking to the stand I pick up the gun and start to load it. ‘The target is trying to get to that room.’ Ava says sternly. ‘He’s trying to hurt them. Trying to kill them.’ A rush of panic fills me up. They are so innocent. They don’t know what is coming for them. Footsteps slowly echo from the back of the room. Without thinking I throw up the gun and shoot into the darkness, where I heard the noise.**

**BANG**  
BANG  
BANG

**A loud thump makes me realise what I have done. Switching the safety on and chucking it on the ground, I run towards the back of the room. A dark shape is slumped on the floor.**

**‘TURN ON THE LIGHTS!’ I scream as I reach the figure. A crackling overhead and the room bursts into light. I come to a sudden halt, holding my hands over my mouth. Tears track down my face. I stumble backwards to escape the dark red liquid oozing onto the floor.**

**A hand grabs my shoulder. Pushing it of roughly I go to run out of the room. The guard grabs me from behind round my waist and lifts me into the air. I wrap my leg around his and pull it in causing his knee to unlock and for him to fall. Using the fact that he is off balance, I bring back my arm and elbow him in the face. His grip on me loosens and I am able to pull free. Heading towards the door again, Ava steps in front of me.**

**‘Why did you make me do that?’ I cry, finally losing my composure.**

**‘You needed to learn.’ She says simply.**

**‘To kill?’**

**‘To protect.’**

Jolting awake, I sit up quickly. It’s still dark. I turn in my spot to see Newt still asleep. Gently, I stand up and walk over to one of the windows. The glass has gone now so it’s not really much of a window, more of a hole in the wall. I try to push back the memories I’ve just seen, but they are crashing around at the forefront of my mind. The image of the man’s body stays right in front of my eyes. My head starts to spin, so I make my way outside. As soon as I feel that I am far enough away from the group, I bend at the waist and let go of the sick forming in my throat. The burning in my throat makes me catch my breath. I grab onto a wall to stop me from losing my balance. My head pounds and my eyes water. A hand on my back causes me to try and open my eyes. Tears fill them up so quickly, I can’t see who it is.

‘It’s okay,’ the voice says gently, rubbing my back. It’s Minho. Taking a few deep breaths, I wipe my eyes and then my mouth on my sleeve. I look at Minho. He takes my hand as we walk away from the pile of vomit on the floor. We sit by a wall in silence. I can tell he wants to ask me questions, but he is holding them in for my sake.

‘I’m sorry.’ I whisper to him. His arm works its way round my shoulder, squeezing it tightly.

‘Do you want me to wake Newt?’ He asks, looking a bit panicky. I giggle. He never did know what to do when I was upset. I shake my head.

‘He needs his sleep.’ I’d noticed the dark shadows under his eyes becoming more and more prominent over the last couple of days.

‘What happened?’ He says softly. I sigh.

‘I keep remembering things. From before.’ I whisper, not sure whether I’m going to be able to say it.

‘Like the gun.’ I wince, before taking it out of the back of my trousers. I look at it for a second, feeling distaste, leaking from every pore. ‘What is it?’

Not taking my eyes from the gun I say, ‘They made me kill someone.’ I hear him intake a small sharp breath. ‘They took me to see you lot. You were all laughing and talking.’ I close my eyes. ‘Then Paige said that there was a man trying to hurt you. All of you. And that it was my job to protect you, because you couldn’t protect yourselves. So I shot him. Killed him.’ I can feel cold trickles making their way down my face. ‘Here I am calling WICKED monsters, when the real monster is sat right here.’

‘Don’t be stupid.’ Minho says chuckling. I look up at him partially confused, partially horrified.

‘What the hell are you talking about?’

‘Look, I killed Gally.’ He whispers.

‘He killed Chuck. He would’ve killed us.’ I state slowly. He nods.

‘Yeah, he would’ve. And I wouldn’t put it past WICKED to hurt one of us if you didn’t do as they say.’ I hadn’t thought of that. I don’t know if they did that. I couldn’t remember, but as Minho said, I wouldn’t put it past them. He raises a cocky eyebrow, knowing that he has a point. I nod with a small smile. ‘Right, now that that ridiculousness is out of the way, how’s Newt?’ The classic cheeky Minho grin is full formed now as he stares at me waiting for an answer. Heat rushes to my cheeks as I splutter for an answer.

‘I, Um, I, Fine, I think.’ Minho laughs.

‘You were looking very cosy tonight. All wrapped up in a blanket, sleeping together.’ My cheeks are burning. I start to smile back.

‘As a matter of fact I was, thank you very much. Very comfy.’ He smirks.

‘Good, good.’ I can tell he’s going to ask more but I decide to cut this interrogation short.

‘Yes, yes, very comfy. So comfy in fact, I’m going to go back and see if I can get some more sleep.’ I chuckle at his disappointed face and walk back inside. Reaching the group I settle myself back in between Newt’s legs, which I’m pretty sure are in the exact same position as they were before. Leaning back, I feel Newt’s arm tighten again. I catch Minho’s eye and smirk before resting my head back and falling asleep.

The next morning, we pack up quickly and head off. For as far as the eye can see now, there is just desert. No buildings, no shelter, just sand. We walk for a solid 6-7 hours towards the hazy mountains in the distance before taking a break. As we rest a rumbling causes us to turn around. Fucking hell! I look over to Newt.

‘It’s another sandstorm!’ He shouts.

‘Should we try and walk through it?’ I call back. Thomas shakes his head.

‘This one looks worse than last time.’ He flicks his eyes around the desert, looking for any signs of shelter. ‘There’s nothing here!’ He shouts to me. ‘We can’t risk trying to find some shelter now. We should use the time to prepare!’ I nod, fully agreeing. Throwing my bag on the floor, I pull out some pieces of cloth I had picked up over our travels.

‘Everyone come here.’ The group moves round me. ‘Any pieces of cloth, scarves, clothing that you have, wet it and use it to cover your mouth, nose, eyes and ears.’ I grab a water canister and wet Newt’s scarf that is still around my neck. Pulling it over my mouth I take a few deep breaths. The others all begin to do the same thing until all the water is gone and we are all covered up.

‘Get close to the ground!’ Thomas shouts, through the cloth. He reaches for Teresa and Aris’ hands. We take his lead and join hands before sinking to the floor. Quickly letting go of Teresa’s other hand, I pull the remaining cloth over my eyes, before closing them and resting my head on my pack. We wait for around 20 minutes before the storm hits us. We lie on the ground, hands covering our heads, waiting. When it finally hits, it feels like nothing I have ever felt. Sand whips against my body, beating and pummelling every inch of me. I hear groans from the others, I’m pretty sure they are feeling it too. This goes on for a few hours, before it lets up enough for us to sit up. Looking around at the others, I can tell they feel the same way I do.

‘Let’s stay here for tonight,’ I say, before flopping down on the ground again. A quiet murmuring accompanies some shuffling but no objections. Some footsteps come up behind me as Newt positions himself next to me. I turn over and smile. His wild hair has not been helped by the storm. It is stuck up in a million directions. I reach up and ruffle it. Sand falls out and showers us both. Newt chuckles and takes my hand. Pulling me closer, I rest my head on his chest, whilst he leans on my pack.

‘Are you okay?’ He whispers. I nod before breathing in his scent. It’s different from how it was in the Glade. Where he used to smell of sweat and smoke, now he smells of… I don’t know, sort of like 4 day old shower gel, sweat and a smell I can only describe as sand. We probably all smell the same. Closing my eyes, I try put all worries out of my mind. Somewhere along the way I fall asleep.

‘Hey. Hey. Get up.’ I groan, when Thomas’ voice breaks my sleep. ‘Kira, Newt, get up.’ A sharp kick to my leg causes me to open my eyes. ‘Come on, let's go. Jak, Aris.’ I recognise the tone of excitement in Thomas’ voice and get up. ‘I see something.’ He point to the horizon, where about 20 or 30 glittering lights flicker in the distance. My heart starts to race. Did we make it?

‘Woah! What is it? What...’ Minho says, still groggy from sleep.

‘You see that?’ Thomas stutters. I grin at him before grabbing my pack and slinging it over my shoulders.

‘It's lights.’ Jak utters amazed.

‘Yes, yes very pretty, let’s go!’ I grumble. Why do they always do this? You know that the longer they stare at something before moving, the longer there is for something bad to happen.

‘We made it.’ Minho says quietly.

‘Oh for fucks sake. Why did he have to go and say that, that’s just asking for tro…’ I start, before a loud rumble, makes us spin round. Dark clouds have filled the sky, crackling with lightning.

I instantly start to run away from the group towards the lights. A strike of lightning hits the ground a couple of hundred meters in front of the group.

‘STOP ADMIRING THE FUCKING SCENERY AND MOVE!!’ I bellow just as another strikes scarily closer.

I don’t know what was said but they all grab their bags and begin running towards me.

‘Come on, let's go. Let's go! Hurry!’ I shout before starting to run again. The clouds are moving fast, as is the lightning; new strikes every couple of seconds. We move as fast as we can, towards what I can now make out another big warehouse. Shells of cars are littered out front.

‘Go!’

‘Run!’

‘Keep moving! Come on!’ Shouts of encouragement and terror echo from behind me. I quickly look behind me and see that Teresa is lagging behind.

‘Let's go! Come on, Teresa!’ I scream, which obviously Thomas hears as he puts an arm behind her pushing her forward. The clouds are right over us now. A couple of meters to my left a loud **BANG** , and a flying barrel cause me to get moving again.

‘We're getting closer!’ Teresa shouts. Reaching the door I begin tugging at it trying to get it to open.

‘Keep going! Get inside! Go!’ Thomas shouts to me.

‘I’m fucking trying!’ I shout back, giving the door a strong yank before the door comes loose. As it swings open, I hear a cry of pain from behind me. Spinning round, I see Thomas and a smoking Minho on the floor. ‘Minho!’ Racing back towards them I shout to Teresa, Frypan and Jak, ‘The doors open, get inside!’ I race past them reaching the others. Newt and Aris grab Minho whilst I put my arm round Thomas’ waist forcing him to move.

Frypan stands by the door, holding it open as we approach. ‘Come on! Hurry up!’ He shouts, motioning for us to hurry with his arm. ‘Come on! Get in.’

We race into the darkness, as Frypan brings the door shut behind us with a loud **CLANG.**


	23. Brenda and Jorge

Chapter 6

‘Put him down.’ I call, trying to find a torch or something to give us a bit of light.

‘Watch his head.’ Aris says. Fumbling in my pack, I finally find a torch.

‘Who's got a light?’ Teresa asks, panic seeping in. I flick it on and point it right at Minho.

‘Minho!’ We are all crowding round, trying to get him to wake up.

‘Come on, come on.’ Newt whispers.

‘Minho?’ I say.

‘Minho?’ Aris.

‘Come on, Minho.’ Frypan.

‘Come on, man.’ Jak.

‘Come on. Breathe.’ I say.

‘Urghh.’ A groan of pain comes from Minho. We all sigh in relief before chuckling at him.

‘There he is. There you go.’ Aris says sitting back slightly. I smile at his concern. He’s known us 4 days and yet he cares enough to risk his life.

‘Here you are. Are you okay?’ Thomas says, helping Minho sit up.

‘What happened?’ He groans. I laugh a little bit.

‘I think you got struck by lightning.’ A small grin comes onto his face.

‘Oh.’ We all chuckle, before moving to get him standing.

‘Nice and slow.’ Newt says. The boys pull Minho to his feet. I give Minho a grin.

‘You okay?’ He nods

‘Yeah. Oh, my God.’ I pull him into a hug.

‘Don’t scare me like that again, okay?’ I whisper before pulling back.

‘What would you do without me?’ He smirks. I roll my eyes.

‘What would we do?’ I answer sarcastically. The guy’s chuckle.

‘Hey.’ Teresa whispers. I turn around to see her staring out into the darkness.

‘What?’ I snap. ‘Oohh.’ I think to myself. That was a bit harsh. I guess I’m still a tad raw from our discussion.

‘What's that smell?’ She says mainly to herself. Flicking on her torch, she jumps back when she comes face to face with a crank. After a couple of seconds of sheer panic, I notice it is chained up.

‘Behind you!’ I spin around as another crank reaches out to grab me. Pushing back into a tight circle, we’re all faced with dozens and dozens of chained up cranks.

‘Oh, shit! Oh, my God.’ Thomas yelps as another gets too close for comfort.

‘I see you've met our guard dogs.’ A young woman’s voice makes us all look over to the left. Stood at the front, I squint my eyes to try and see where she is. A light flicks on above her head outlining her silhouette. If I wasn’t so freaked out, I’d be impressed.

‘Who's that?’ Frypan whispers from behind me. She begins to walk through the cranks like it’s nothing. I smirk, I think I’m gonna like her.

‘Stay back! Stay back!’ Minho shouts as she gets closer. I put my hand on his arm, telling him to calm down. We can see her now, her short dark hair making her look quite fierce. Her clothes are well worn and yet still are quite stylish. A long jacket that reaches down to the back of her knees swishes as she walks. Getting scarily close to a crank, she finally reaches us. An amused smirk marks her face. I know I look impressed. She knows it too. She catches my eye and winks. I chuckle as she brings her attention to the others.

‘You guys look like shit.’ She sasses. I roll my eyes. I can hear the others breathing heavily and trying to avoid the cranks. I grab Newt’s hand and smile a little. He tries to smile back; unsuccessfully I may add.

‘Come on. Follow me.’ Newt’s firm grip prevents me from moving to follow her. She turns around and raises an eyebrow. ‘Unless you want to stay here with them.’ She mocks gesturing round to the cranks. I chuckle a bit and pull at Newt’s hand forcing him to follow me. Carefully avoiding the cranks I follow the girl through the doorway and up some stairs. She leads us into the main opening in the warehouse, which is filled with people. Men, women, old, young, all together, all staring at us.

‘Oh, my.’ Frypan says from behind me.

‘Come on, keep up. Jorge wants to meet you.’ She calls from the front. We walk up another set of stairs. People like the corridor we are now walking through. Barrels of fire light the way. It also makes our audience look 10 times more terrifying.

‘Who's Jorge?’ Thomas asks.

‘You'll see. No one's come out of the Scorch in a long time. You've just got him curious. And me, too.’ She flirts looking over her shoulder at Thomas. I flick my eyes back to Newt’s and grin. I’m definitely gonna like her. Something I don’t like however it the growing number of people now following us through the warehouse. If it comes down to it, we are vastly outnumbered.

‘Anyone else starting to get a bad feeling about this place?’ Newt whispers to us.

‘Let's just hear him out. See what he has to say.’ I say quietly before following the girl up another set of stairs.

‘Jorge, they're here.’ The girl says before flopping onto a sofa.

‘Shshshsh.’ The man now in front of us, is focused on what looks to be some sort of radio. Although whatever he was listening for, I’m pretty sure he’s just lost it.

‘Damn it.’ Called it. He stands up before turning around and putting his hands on his hips.

‘Do you ever get the feeling the whole world's against you?’ He says with a sigh. Fucking tell me about it.

‘Three questions. Where did you come from? Where are you going? How can I profit?’ He grabs some sort of jug and a glass before waiting for us to answer. ‘Don't all answer at once.’ I smirk. Is sassiness a necessity around here?

‘We're headed for the mountains. Looking for the Right Arm.’ I say, putting on a tone of strength. The crowd behind us laughs at this.

‘You're looking for ghosts, you mean.’ He replies with a smirk. ‘Question number two. Where did you come from?’

‘That's our business.’ Minho says from over my shoulder. Jorge shrugs before several of the men grab us.

‘Hey!’

‘Get the hell off me!’

‘Get the hell off me, man!’

Hands grab the side of my arms. Without thinking I sink myself down below his waist making it harder to move me. I turn to my left slightly and elbow him straight in the gut. Janson’s face flashes before my eyes. ‘Don’t touch me.’ I shout. His hands loosen on my arms so I shake out of their hold and kick him in the stomach. He flies back into the shocked crowd of people. Another two guys grab me forcing me to the floor. I struggle for a minute before seeing the girl walking up to Thomas with some sort of device.

She shoves his head down, ‘Shut up, you big baby,’ before scanning his neck. A faint blue mark lights up on it under the device.

‘What is that?’ I ask, looking up at her. She is looking at the device, stunned.

‘You were right.’ She whispers walking over to Jorge and handing it to him. I don’t like the smile that is currently stretching onto his face. The men let the others go but keep me on my knees.

‘Right about what? What is she talking about?’ Thomas shouts.

‘I'm sorry, hermano. Looks like you're tagged. You came from WICKED. Which means... you're very valuable.’ The hands on my shoulders are getting tighter and tighter. Oh fuck.

‘Good plan, Kira. "Just hear what the man has to say." Really working out for us.’ Minho says sarcastically. We are currently tied, by our feet, to a ceiling. That’s right. We’re hanging. By our feet. Over a massive drop. Luckily my gun had been moved to the zip up pockets of my jacket before we got here.

‘Shut up, Minho.’ Thomas says. ‘Maybe I can reach the rope.’ Minho and Thomas both try to bend up from the waist to grab the rope around their feet. I chuckle a bit as they both flop down unable to reach.

‘Enjoying the view?’ Jorge emerges out of the shadows and stands in front of us holding a cane with a brass dog’s head on it.

‘What the hell do you want?’ I snap, pissed that he tied us up.

‘That is the question.’ He chuckles. ‘My men want to sell you back to WICKED.’

‘Well your men are idiots!’ I snap again. He nods slightly.

‘Yes well, life has taught them to think small.’ I try to nod, but it’s very difficult to nod upside down. ‘I'm not like that. Something tells me that you're not either.’

‘Is the blood rushing to my head or is this shank not making any sense?’ Minho calls snarkily, obviously as annoyed as I am.

‘Tell me what you know about the Right Arm.’ I narrow my eyes at him.

‘I thought you said they were ghosts.’ Newt pipes up.

‘I happen to believe in ghosts. Especially when I hear them chattering on the airwaves.’ So that’s what he was listening for. The Right Arm. ‘You tell me what you know, and maybe we can make a deal.’

‘The last time I told you our plan, you ended up tying us up. Why should we should we tell you anything?’ I say, confused at what his game is. His hand moves towards the lever holding us up. Shit. ‘We don't know much.’ I try again. Jorge grabs the lever and pulls it. We drop down a metre or so, before he pulls it back.

‘Okay! Okay, all right. They're hiding in the mountains. And they attacked WICKED. They got out a bunch of kids. That's it. That's all we know.’ Thomas shouts. Idiot. He wouldn’t kill us. He needs us. Either to get to the Right Arm or to sell to WICKED. Either way were not worth anything dead.

‘Yo, Jorge. What's going on?’ The tall bloke I kicked earlier walks in at this point looking confused to find him talking to us.

‘Me and my new friends were just getting acquainted. We're done now.’ Jorge says with a smirk. He’s covering. He’s gonna help us. I can tell.

‘Hey, wait. You're not gonna help us?’ Thomas calls. Dammit, Tommy. Read his body language.

‘Don't worry, Hermano. We'll get you back to where you belong. Hang tight.’ He laughs before walking off.

‘Ha Ha.’ I shout, ‘Fucking hilarious!’

‘Hang tight. Dickhead.’ I mutter the last bit to myself.

‘You better watch the mouth on you, girly.’ The tall guy says. ‘Else we’ll have to wash it out.’

I smirk. ‘How’s your stomach. I didn’t hit ya too hard, did I?’ The man growls before turning round and leaving.

‘Must you aggravate him?’ Frypan mutters. I laugh.

‘Where’s the fun in not?’ He sighs before turning his head towards Thomas and Minho who are trying to work out how to free us. I look up at the rope around my ankles. Slowly I bend up, reaching my hands towards the rope. No that’s not happening. I lean back down before looking at the lever. A plan starts to form in my head. I grin.

‘Guys, I think I’ve got it.’ They all look at me eyebrows raised. ‘Teresa, I’m gonna swing and push you into Minho. Minho you grab her. Then push her as hard as you can towards that bar.’ I point at one of the bars surrounding the lever. ‘Teresa, you need to catch hold of that, turn yourself over and pull the lever.’

‘What?’ Minho shouts. ‘Then we will all go.’

‘Only enough so that you touch the ground. Then you push it back to stop us falling. Untie yourself and then use that…’ I point to a metal pole at the side with a rounded hook on the end, ‘To pull us up. Okay?’

‘Okay. I got it.’ Teresa says confidently. I nod.

‘Minho, ready?’ I ask.

‘Yeah.’

‘Okay.’ Reaching out towards Teresa, I grab her hand. ‘Ready?’ I whisper to her. She nods. ‘Alright.’ With all my strength I push her towards Minho, causing me to go spinning in the opposite direction making my head hurt.

‘Gotcha.’ Minho says as he catches her. ‘Okay. One, two, here we go.’

‘Ready.’ Teresa whispers.

‘Three.’ Minho pushes Teresa as hard as he can. She swings towards the bar, just missing it by a couple of centimetres.

‘Ah!’ Minho shouts in frustration.

‘Oh, shit.’ Newt says.

‘Come on, Minho. Push her harder!’ Thomas says. Minho catches Teresa as she swings back towards him. Pushing her again, she just misses.

‘Once more,’ I shout. ‘This time.’

‘This is it. One... two... three!’ Minho says, pushing Teresa once more. She swings across the room, and catches onto the bar.

‘Yes!’

‘Yes!’ The boys celebrate as Teresa pulls the bar down just enough to be able to untie her ropes.

‘Okay. Teresa, hurry!’ I say, pointing to the pipe.

She runs to the pipe and hold it out so I can reach it. Pulling myself over the edge, Teresa undoes the bindings on my feet. I slump down on to the floor, before jumping up and running to get another pipe. After a few minutes, Thomas, Minho, Newt and Jak are free. Whilst I’m over to Frypan, lights fill the room.

‘Shit! They’ve found us.’

‘Good evening! This is the World Catastrophe Killzone Department.’ Janson’s voice echo’s over a loudspeaker. I look over a Newt, who is already looking at me. Putting my focus back into the issue at hand, I manage to get Frypan over the side.

‘We have your compound completely surrounded. You find yourselves, through no fault of your own... in possession of WICKED property. Return them to us unharmed and we'll consider this a simple misunderstanding.’ I’m getting really sick of that man’s voice!

‘Or you can resist...and every last one of you will die. It won't be long before the Flare wipes out the rest of us. The hope of a cure lies in your hands. The choice is yours.’ 

By the end of Janson’s little speech, we are all free and moving towards the exit.

‘Okay. Let's go, let's go.’ Thomas says as we all reach each other. Turning towards the exit, we stop suddenly. The tall guy from earlier is stood in front of us. Standing behind Newt I carefully unzip my pocket and grab my gun.

‘We're not trying to cause any trouble, okay? We just got to get out of here.’ Thomas says holding his hands up in the air.

‘Is that so?’ The guy brings out his hands from behind his back. In one hand is a walkie talkie and in the other, a gun. He points the gun at us before bringing the talkie to his lips.

‘Janson, I got 'em for ya. I'm bringing 'em down. Don't shoot us. Come on. Let's go. I said let's go.’ He says getting closer and closer to us. Before I can react Thomas lunges at the man, grabbing his gun. The gun goes off as the man throws us back.

‘You little bastard!’ The man cries before advancing. Sensing my shot (pun intended) I push Thomas out the way and shoot. Straight into the heart. Bullseye. The man sinks to the floor. I take a deep breath before saying, ‘Come on.’ Everyone looks at me in shock. ‘It’s not just a decoration,’ I snap motioning to the gun. ‘Come on.’ As we begin to move again, the girl form before appears. I hold up my gun.

‘For fuck’s sake. You’re not here to stop us as well are you?’ Her eyes go from the gun, to me, to the body behind me. She shakes her head.

‘No, I’m here to help. Come on.’ I take another breath and let my gun fall by my waist.

‘Thank god, I wasn’t sure if I could shoot you too. That was guy was a dick.’ She laughs before moving away. Following closely we run up some stairs to see Jorge running towards us. A song starts loudly playing over the loudspeakers. I turn to the girl.

‘What is going on?’ She turns with a grin.

‘You’ll see. Come on, this way.’

‘Brenda! Hurry! We don't have much time! Let's go, let's go, let's go!’ Jorge runs up to a wall and pushes. The wall flies upon showing some sort of zip line leading from this building to another.

‘Right this way!’ He shouts, gesturing proudly at the line.

‘You gotta be kidding me.’ Frypan says, looking at the line in displeasure.

‘Plan B, hermano. You kids wanna get to the Right Arm? I'll lead you to them. But you're gonna owe me. Follow me!’ And with that he grabs on to a piece of cloth and jumps. I poke my head round the corner to see him flying along the line to the other building.

‘All right! Let's go!’ Brenda shouts, pulling down more cloth. I nod quickly.

‘Come on! Everyone, go.’ I push Minho towards Brenda. Looking at me, he grabs onto the cloth and jumps out.

‘Thomas, you next.’ He does the same. Frypan. Jak. Aris. Teresa.

‘Newt, you go next.’ He shakes his head. I roll my eyes, before kissing him on the cheek.

‘Just go. I'm right behind you.’ He sighs, before nodding and pushing off. Brenda quickly runs past me away from the line.

‘Brenda! Where you going?’ I shout before chasing after her. Jorge is gonna get us to the Right Arm. Brenda matters to Jorge. Protect Brenda. I race after her back to Jorge’s office.

‘Brenda, come on. What are you doing?’ She rattles through drawers, obviously trying to find something. ‘Come on. We gotta go!’ I shout. She stops suddenly, grabs something out of the drawer and spins around.

‘I got it. Come on.’ We race back towards the line, but get cut off by guys with guns.

‘Shit. WICKED!’ They obviously saw the others escaping. Brenda and I pull out our guns and begin to fire at the figures.

‘Take cover!’ One of the men shouts.

‘Go! Go!’ Brenda shouts pushing me towards a door at the back of the room. I duck down whilst bullets come flying over the top of our heads.

‘Shit!’ I shout as one bullet gets a little too close.

‘Come on, hurry! We're running out of time!’ Brenda shouts running in front of me. We run across a bridge at the very top of the warehouse.

‘What does that mean?’ I scream, getting no answer. More bullets fly towards us. I thought the idea was to take us alive!

‘Here, follow me!’ She screams, making her way onto a support beam.

‘Are you kidding me?!’ I shout behind her, making my way onto the beam anyway.

‘Come on!’ Balancing on a beam is hard to begin with. When you have guys with guns chasing you; 10 times harder.

‘Stop! Stay right where you are!’ The guy calls from behind me.

‘Shit. No, we need them. You go around. I'll go after them.’ Another one says. Trying not to look down or back I keep my eyes trained on Brenda.

‘Brenda, where are we going?’ I shout.

‘Hurry! The song's almost over!’ She screams.

‘Kid, don’t move!’ The man says behind me. I ignore him and climb over the beam at the end.

**_‘Somewhere a-walkin' after midnight.  
Searchin' for me’_ **

The song finishes, causing me to turn and see what Brenda was so afraid of.

**BANG**

Huge explosions fill the warehouse. I laugh a little. Clever Jorge!

‘Holy shit!’ Brenda gasps from behind me. ‘We gotta move, the roofs gonna cave in!’ I agree as soon as I see it happening at the far end of the building. Running after Brenda, I watch her jump and grab onto a wire in a lift shaft. Taking a quick glance behind me, I run and follow her down. As I fly down the shaft, I hear Brenda at the bottom. 

‘Come on.’

As soon as my feet touch the bottom, I jump out of the shaft, just as the roof pieces tumble down. Clouds of dust, sand and smoke fill the air causing us to cough. Trying to get my breath back, I sit up.

‘Are you okay?’ Brenda asks, her voice quite gravelly from the dust.

‘Yeah, great.’ Brenda shines her torch at the lift shaft. It is full of rocks and debris.

‘No, no. How are we gonna get back to the others?’ I say looking at Brenda.

‘Relax. I'm gonna get us out of here.’ She says, before rummaging in her bag and pulling out another torch. Chucking it me she says, ‘Here.’ I catch it before switching it on.

‘Oh shit, Newt’s gonna kill me.’ I whisper to myself before getting up and starting to look around. ‘Why are you helping us?’ I ask.

‘Trust me, it's not my idea.’ Charming. ‘Jorge seems to think you guys are our ticket to the safe haven.’

‘The what?’ I ask, staring at her.

‘You know, paradise. Safe from the sun, free of infection. Supposedly, the Right Arm's been taking kids there for years. Immunes, anyway.’ She adds bitterly. So not immune then. I’m guessing that’s why she’s out here and not in the facility.

‘And you know where that is?’ I ask. If Jorge knows, maybe that’s where he’s taken the others.

‘No. But Jorge knows a guy. Marcus. He used to smuggle kids up into the mountains. If Jorge made it out, that's where he'll be taking your friends.’ Brenda movies over to some sort of grate on the floor, covered by a pallet. Throwing the pallet of she starts to pull at it.

‘If he made it out?’ I ask. He had to have made it out. He’s got the others. Newt.

‘You ask a lot of questions. Can you just come over here and help me with this? Please.’ I walk over and reach for the grate with my left arm.

‘Shit.’ Brenda says, staring at me.

‘What?’ I say.

‘You’re shot.’

‘Oh,’ I laugh, ‘No that’s from before I got here, probably just leaking through the bandage, its fine.’ I reach for the grate again.

‘No,’ Brenda says. ‘That’s new,’ pointing at my shoulder. I look down at my shoulder and see blood billowing out onto my shirt.

‘Aww, shit.’ I say. ‘Do you have any bandages in there?’ I say pointing at her bag. She shakes her head. I sigh. ‘Any shirts.’ She nods this time and delves into her bag. ‘Any tape?’ Again she nods, pulling out some shirts and a reel of tape. Throwing off my jacket I say, ‘Okay, I need you to check whether it’s a through and through.’

‘How do I do that?’ She says, panic seeping into her voice. Throwing off my shirt I turn around.

‘Is there an exit wound?’ I grab one of the shirts and jam it into the wound on the front. She walks up behind me before saying, ‘Yeah.’

‘Okay, that’s good. Now jam another shirt into and over the exit wound and then we’ll secure it with tape.’

‘Okay,’ she whispers getting to work. After 5 minutes we think the wound is wrapped tight enough and I stick my shirt back on. Throwing my jacket on over that, and you can’t really tell. ‘I’m Kira, by the way. We were never really introduced.’ She grins and shakes my outstretched hand.

‘Brenda,’ she replies.

‘Pleasure. Okay, let’s try again shall we,’ I say with a smirk. She chuckles and we yank on the grate. Slowly it comes open. Pushing it back we hover over the entrance to the tunnels. An echoey screech make me look at Brenda. ‘Well, that doesn't sound good.’

‘Yeah. Down here they'll be full term. Let's go.’ She jumps into the tunnel, with me following straight after.

‘Full term?’ I query. She ignores me again. She tends to do that when she knows I won’t like the answer. We slowly make our way through a small tunnel leading to what looks like a sewer. Graffiti covers all the walls. It’s quite cool actually, you know in a creepy, “I never want to come here again” kind of way.

‘I think it's this way.’ Brenda whispers after peering both ways down the sewer.

‘You think?’ I follow her, despite my doubts that she knows where she is going. ‘Do people live down here?’ Water droplets keep hitting the back of my neck causing me to pull Newt’s scarf tighter round my neck.

‘The Solar Storms forced people underground. Jorge says there's settlements all over these tunnels.’ I look around.

‘I couldn’t imagine living down here,’ I whisper.

‘Me either.’

‘So, what about Jorge? Is he your father?’ I ask curiously.

‘Close enough. Truth is, I don't really know what he is. He's just always been there. And I've always done what he's asked me to do, no matter how stupid.’ She says bitterly.

‘So you don't think the Right Arm is real?’ I ask looking down at the floor. Screeching from behind us causes up to whip around. After we are sure there is nothing coming we carry on walking.

‘I think...hope is a dangerous thing. Hope has killed more of my friends than the Flare and the Scorch combined. Just thought Jorge was smarter than that.’ I look up at her.

‘Hope is the only reason I’m still alive.’ I say. She stops and stares at me. ‘What?’

‘You don’t seem like the kind of person that believes in hope.’ I chuckle.

‘Yeah, I guess I’m not. But the hope’s not for me.’ She furrows her brows. ‘My friends. My hope…is that they’ll survive. That’s what keeps me going.’ I finish before starting to walk again.

‘Uh huh,’ she says, before smiling slyly. ‘Hope and a certain boy?’ I look over at her teasing tone. I chuckle. ‘What’s his name again? Nick, Nathen…’ I laugh at her fishing.

‘Newt.’ I say simply.

‘Right.’ She nods. ‘What kind of name is Newt?’ I smirk.

‘It’s the one that WICKED gave him.’ I laugh.

‘And he kept it?’ My smile drops a bit.

‘WICKED took our memories. I’m the only one who kept my original name, and that’s because I was too stubborn to let them change it.’

‘They took your…’ I nod.

‘I remember bits. As does Thomas. But the others. Nothing. Nothing from before WICKED.’

‘Shit,’ she says. I nod.

‘So he’s your boyfriend. Newt.’ I smile at the smooth subject change.

‘I guess so. Kind of. We haven’t really had time to talk about it.’ I smile. Boyfriend. I wonder what he would make of that.

‘Well, he’s cute. I’ll give you that. Even if he does have a ridiculous name.’ We both laugh again before reaching a fork in the tunnel.

‘Damn.’ I start to walk slowly down one. Seeing a light and fresh air coming from the end I say, ‘Hey, I think it might be this way. Brenda? Brenda?’ I can’t see her.

‘I'm over here.’ Her voice comes from round the corner. Walking over to her she points at something on the wall. ‘Look at this.’ What looks like vines, have climbed up the wall, although getting closer, I see that they are not plant material.

‘What the hell is this?’ I ask, looking over to her. The vines cover every inch of wall, working its way down the tunnel. They are red-ish in colour and are letting off a really awful smell.

‘I don't know.’ She whispers. A squeaking comes from a tunnel next to us causing us to back away. My heart pounds in my chest so hard, I swear Brenda can hear it. A rat comes into the light causing us to let a sigh. I snigger at the fact that we were so scared over a fucking rat. It walks forward and topples off the edge of the tunnel, causing it to come sprawling out on the floor. It picks itself up and walks over getting a bit too close to Brenda for comfort. She kicks it away saying, ‘Urghhh. Jesus.’ We watch as the rat walks over some of the vines getting closer and closer to the wall. A hand shoots out of the vines grabbing the rat round the stomach. Brenda and I jump back as the vines pull away from the wall revealing a crank.

‘Shit.’ I whisper putting my hand over my mouth. More and more cranks are appearing now; some from the walls like the first and some from the end of the corridor all converging on the squeaking rat. Keeping quiet we turn around, and come face to face with another. Brenda gasps as I take a torch from the back of her pack and smack it round the face. The crank bends down causing us to be able to pass it. Straightening up, it makes a screeching sound alerting all the other cranks to our presence.

‘Go, go, go! Oh, my God!’ Brenda shouts as we pelt down my original corridor towards the light. The screeching and moaning of the cranks behind us force us to push harder and move quicker.

‘Keep going! We're almost there. Come on.’ Making our way into the sunlight we slide to a stop, preventing us from going straight off the edge of the path, into the depths of rubble below. Looking up, I see the cause of the rubble. A skyscraper, broken at the base, has toppled onto another building. Luckily for us this creates a bridge over the gorge.

‘Come on! This way!’ Brenda shouts, starting to climb up the inside of the building. Glancing behind me, I see the cranks gaining on us. Moving instantly, I race after Brenda, trying to follow where she steps. ‘Kira. Come on!’ We weave through several fallen pieces of building before reaching an entirely vertical bit. I look in horror at it. Running I can do. Climbing, not so much.

‘Okay.’ Brenda says as we start to climb. The screeching and snarling of the cranks gets increasingly louder, so I try to increase my pace. My worries are confirmed when 3 cranks appear below me. ‘Go, go!’ I shout, climbing as quickly as possible.

‘Come on!’ Brenda shouts. ‘Keep going!’ Brenda obviously catches her hand on something loose as she screams, ‘Watch out!’ Pushing myself into the wall a filing cabinet comes flying past me and into one of the cranks causing it and the window it fell through to break.

‘Are you okay?’ She shouts.

‘Yeah. Maybe we shouldn’t try that one again.’ I say sarcastically, before reaching the top. We reach a set of stairs which are partially broken and are all at weird angle. I think we can still get up them though.

Brenda obviously agrees as she says. ‘Come on! Follow me!’ Pulling herself up the stairs I follow fast.

‘Go, go, go!’ A crank decides to take the shortcut and climbs up the middle of the stairs reaching us in mere seconds.

‘Woah!’ I shout as it appears beside me. Brenda in a staircase above kicks it in the face causing it to lose its balance and fall all the way down.

‘Okay, go, go!’ I say, as we continue to run.

‘Come on!’ Brenda shouts as we reach a particularly precarious bit. We are entirely vertical now. Brenda grabs onto a piece of railing to pull herself to the next stair but before I realise, the railing comes loose causing her to lose her grip and slide backwards through a door to the side of me.

‘Brenda! Brenda!’ She slides backwards screaming, coming to land heavily on a window. That window is the only thing between Brenda and a huge drop. I hear a quiet splinter as she lands, which makes me wince. I have to get down there now! That window isn’t gonna hold.

‘You okay?’ I call down.

‘Yeah.’ A quiet groan comes from Brenda.

‘Hang on, I'm gonna find a way down.’ I call, grabbing onto the door frame and trying to find the safest route. This isn’t gonna work if were both dead. A crack from below. Brenda is trying to get up. ‘No, Brenda, don't move. Don't move!’ She ignores me – as usual, as proceeds to try and stand. Sliding down, I grip onto a bit of protruding support beam. Making sure I have a firm grip, I reach hand forward to Brenda who is now fully standing. The glass below her is cracking form frame to frame, every move she makes. ‘Come on.’ I say, reaching out to her.

‘I can't.’ She whispers, looking down at the glass.

‘Brenda, grab my hand.’ I say trying to reach for her. A snarling forces me to look away from Brenda to the doorway up top. A crank had made its way to us and coming after Brenda. ‘No, no!’ I scream as the crank slides down and knocks Brenda to the floor; or window in this case. A loud crack sounds as the window becomes decorated with splitting glass.

‘Kira!’ She screams. The crank is on top of her, and there is nothing I can do.

‘Brenda!’ I shout as she kicks off the crank and scrabbles to get to me. ‘Come on, you need to get to me.’

‘I can't reach!’ she shouts as the crank pulls her back by her leg. The fight between Brenda and the crank is making the glass worse. The crank tries to punch Brenda but misses, punching the glass instead. Grabbing my gun from my pocket, I slide down the rest of the way, onto the next window.

‘Come on! Brenda!’ I shout. She manages to kick away the crank long enough to grab my hand. Making sure my grip is good, I shoot out the glass from underneath them. The crank falls into the depths as Brenda hangs from my hand. Throwing my gun on the floor, I grab Brenda with my other hand as well. My shoulder screams in pain as I hold her. ‘I’ve got you.’ I say as I start to pull her back up. She scrabbles up the side, and leans on some rubble, trying to get her breath back. Sitting down next to her, I wince as my shoulder thrums with pain.

‘You okay?’ She asks quietly. I nod.

‘Yeah, I’m sure it’s fine.’ After a couple of minutes getting out breath back, we slowly climb back up and though the door at the top. Continuing up the stairs we make it to the top of the building. Looking around I see a fire escape that leads back down to the ground.

‘We can get down here. Come on.’ I say, as we race down the stairs, desperate to get back to ground level. Coming out at the bottom, we are in a street. Sounds of life make me smile. ‘Hey, you hear that?’ I turn to smile at Brenda before seeing her collapsing on the floor rooting in her bag. ‘You all right?’ I ask, as she rolls up her trouser leg. A large bit mark sticks out on her leg. I take a deep breath. That was how Winston got infected. A bite.

‘Shit.’ She says, before wrapping a ripped shirt around it.

‘Brenda...’ I whisper.

‘Yeah, yeah. I know. Let's just go find Marcus.’ She says, before pulling her trouser leg down and getting up.


	24. The Right Arm

Chapter 7

We come out into what looks like a high street. People fill the area, dirty and smelling.

‘Okay. Try to blend in.’ Brenda says before walking off. Looking around I notice a man sitting at a fire. I recognise him. Walking closer he looks up at me and I gasp, suddenly remembering where I recognise him from.

‘Excuse me.’ I say, getting closer. He looks up at me with a small smile.

‘What do you need?’ He says. I shake my head.

‘Oh, no, I don’t need anything. I think I have something that belongs to you.’ He furrows his brow as I reach into my bag. I rummage around until I find what I am looking for. A small digital camera. He gasps as I hold it out to him.

‘I found it in a car. It still works. That’s how I knew it was yours.’ He takes it with shaking hands before flicking it on. Tears instantly form in his eyes.

‘Thank you,’ he whispers. ‘Guys come here,’ he calls into the tent behind him. 3 adults walk out and I gasp as I recognise them as the children from the photos. ‘Look what this nice girl brought us.’

‘Is that what I think it is?’ The eldest asks. The father nods, before turning to me.

‘I can’t thank you enough.’ He says. ‘What can give you in return?’ I shake my head before pausing.

‘You could tell me whether you have seen a man come through here? With 7 kids about my age? 6 guys and a girl?’ He shakes his head slightly.

‘I don’t know I’m afraid, we’ve been inside most of today.’ I nod my head.

‘Thanks anyway.’ I smile and begin to turn away.

‘But,’ He calls out, ‘If I see them, where should I tell them you will be?’ I look over to Brenda who is standing in front of a large building with a sign saying ‘ZONE A’ on it.

‘In there, I guess,’ pointing at it.

‘You don’t wanna go in there,’ he whispers, ‘Bad things happen in there.’ I smile sadly.

‘I’m not sure I have a choice. If you see them…’ I trail off.

‘I’ll tell them, you and your friend are in there.’ I smile.

‘Thank you.’ Walking away from the family, I feel a small weight lifted off my shoulder. They made it. They are still together. Still alive. I reach Brenda, and we walk towards the building.

‘Are you sure this is the place?’ I whisper as we pass several scantily dressed woman.

‘You here for the party?’ One of the women say, coming up behind us.

‘No. We're looking for Marcus. This is his place, isn't it?’ Brenda says to the woman.

‘This is my place.’ A man walks up to us, dressed in velvet. He’s definitely on something. His blue eyes are drooping and encircled by dark eyeliner.

‘Are you Marcus?’ I ask, really hoping that this was not our only chance of finding the Right Arm.

‘Marcus doesn't live here anymore.’ He says airily.

‘Do you know where we can find him?’ I ask, trying to sound strong.

‘Sure, sure. He's over in Zone B.’ He says gesturing to the left.

‘Okay. What's Zone B?’ I ask quickly. I really want to find this Marcus guy and find the others.

‘It's where they burn the bodies.’ The woman whispers tracing her fingers over my shoulder.

‘Okay,’ I say, trying to work out what to do next. ‘Look, has anyone else been by here... looking for him? Group of guys around our age? They had a girl with them.’ If we can find the others, we can find Jorge. Maybe he has another plan.

‘You know...’ He says, using that airy tone of voice again. ‘I think they might be inside. Here. Drink this.’ He takes a bottle of slightly yellow liquid and holds it out to me.

‘What is it?’ Brenda asks.

‘The price of admission.’ He says, with a laugh. ‘Drink it!’ I grab the bottle with a huff and take a swig. The liquid burns my throat and makes me gasp for air.

‘Your turn.’ He says looking to Brenda. She too takes it, and takes a sip.

‘All right. You two, enjoy the party.’ He says, putting his arms round our shoulders and pushing us through a curtain. Loud music blasted my ears as we entered. Why would the others be in here? It doesn’t make any sense. The music soon started to become all echoey. I blink a couple of times, but my vision is starting to blur.

‘Maybe we should split up. See if we can find the others.’ Brenda’s voice barely reaches my ears as I watch the party goers move round the room so smoothly, like a dance. I start to smile. ‘Hey.’ Brenda’s hand touches my shoulder. ‘Don't drink anything else.’ I nod before walking into the part a bit more. I move through people dancing. Several hands touch my waist and my shoulders, but I ignore them. There was something I was supposed to do. Something… Walking over to a crowd cheering, I see a crank chained up in the middle of the room. A man with a gun is circling it, laughing. Just as he pulls the trigger, I look away.

The man, who is not Marcus, is stood beside me laughing. ‘That was fun!’ He shouts. I back away, feeling funny. ‘What?’ He shouts after me. I turn around and come face to face with Brenda.

‘Brenda?’ I ask, giggling slightly at the sound of my voice.

‘They're not here.’ She whispers.

‘Who aren’t?’ I say back, trying to string a though together.

‘Your friends. Jorge. Newt.’ Newt. I feel like I should feel something about not being able to find Newt, but all I can feel is relaxed.

‘Okay, well... should we keep looking?’ I ask. A pair of hands work their way round my waist, and start to sway me.

‘Why? We couldn't find the Right Arm anyway. Not without Marcus. Your friends are gone. It's over. It's just us now. Just try and relax. Let go.’ She says. I don’t really take much of it in. The feeling of the person behind me, makes me smile. Pressed up against my back.

‘How?’ I ask quietly.

‘Like this.’ The voice behind me whispers. I start to feel feather kisses on my neck. I bend it so that the mouth has better access. I watch as Brenda melts away into an array of colours. I turn round to see the mouth kissing me, but step back.

‘What?’ the mouth says.

‘You're the wrong mouth.’ I say, patting it and walking away. Colours and sounds barrage my ears. I clench my hands as I make my way through the crowd. Not Marcus stands in front of me laughing.

‘Kira?’ A voice echoes my name. I turn away from the man, and see Jak, with the flare. I scramble back away from him screaming. I bump into someone else and turn to apologise, but its Thomas. Dark, purple veins are protruding from his skin.

‘No! No!’ I feel myself shouting. In the distance by the door, I see one more thing that floors me. Newt. Bleeding. A bullet wound on his forehead leaks blood down his face and into his mouth. But he’s still smiling. Blood stains his teeth and gums before he slumps to the floor. I scream, so loudly, I’m sure my own ears are bleeding. Falling to my knees, the dizziness takes over and I fall to the floor.

‘Kira,’ I open my eyes, to see Newt leaning over me. ‘Hey, you're okay.’ He says with a smile. Sitting up quickly I throw my arms around his neck. I wince a little as my shoulder protests but not enough to stop me from holding on for dear life.

‘Oh my god,’ I whisper. Feeling his arms wrap round my waist, makes me so happy that tears leak down the side of my cheeks. Pulling back I stare at his face, running my fingers over his forehead and down his cheeks.

Brushing the tears of my face with his thumb he says, ‘Hey. What’s brought this on?’

‘I saw you die.’ I whisper. He stares at me for a moment before Minho appears over his shoulder.

‘Welcome back, you ugly shank.’ He teases. I smirk back before my attention is drawn to the man strapped to a chair in the middle of the room. His left eye is swollen and his lip is bleeding but other than that he seems in pretty good condition.

‘I suggest that you talk! You son of a bitch!’ Jorge punches “not” Marcus, I’m presuming as encouragement. I jump up and walk over to them.

‘Damn it!’ “Not” Marcus exclaims. I should probably stop calling him “not” Marcus. He obviously is Marcus. Dickhead. ‘I'm sorry... you're going to have to leave my house.’ He says snarkily. I’m pretty sure he is still drunk, or high, or whatever that drink does to you.

‘Looks like you've been having fun.’ Thomas comments dryly as I walk past him. Subconsciously rubbing at my neck, I see Brenda smirk in the corner.

‘Listen. I don't enjoy hurting you. Okay? Where is the Right Arm, Marcus?’ Jorge asks again. ‘I know you know where they're hiding. So you tell me, and I'll make you a deal.’

‘Or you don’t tell him, and he’ll make you dead.’ I quip, getting annoyed with this jackass. He narrows his eyes at me. I cock my eyebrow showing him I’m not intimidated.

‘I made my own deal. You're the one who taught me, never miss an opportunity.’ He says to Jorge, pulling his eyes from me.

‘What's he talking about?’ Newt asks, looking at Jorge.

‘I'm talking about supply and demand. WICKED wants all the Immunes they can get. I help provide that for them. So I lure the kids in... they get drunk, they have a good time. And then, later, WICKED comes in... they separate the wheat from the chaff.’ I grimace and look away from the sickening grin spreading on his face.

‘I changed my mind, hermano. I do enjoy hurting you.’ Jorge kicks Marcus in the chest, sending his chair rocking backwards and landing hard on the floor. ‘Talk! Talk!’

‘Okay! Jesus! But I'm not making any promises.’ Minho and Jorge lift Marcus back up.

‘These guys like to move around. They have an outpost in the mountains. But it's a long way away. You got half of WICKED on your ass. You're never gonna make it.’ He grins, but so does Jorge.

‘Not on foot. Where's Bertha?’

Bertha? Who, the fuck, is Bertha?

This, the fuck, is Bertha. A huge light blue truck, with horns on the front. It’s a bit of a squeeze with 10 of us trying to fit in but we got there. Newt is up front with Jorge, Minho, Thomas and I and behind them, and Jak, Fry, Teresa, Brenda and Aris are on bench seats at the very back. I grin as we glide down the road in Bertha, taking in the scenery. Mountains rising high above our heads, and caverns going down so deep we can’t see the bottom. Newt is grinning from ear to ear, with the window pulled down and the wind in his hair; I’ve not seen him look that happy in a long time. I smile softly at him, which he notices and gives me a grin back. If he is pissed about the zip line, he’s pushing it back until we are alone, and knowing Newt, he’s pissed. I rest my head back against the seat, listening to the rumbling of the engine and the quiet chit chat from around the car. I stretch my shoulder and wince as it twinges in pain.

‘Are you alright?’ Thomas whispers from next to me. I nod, stay silent. Hopefully they have a doctor with the Right Arm. Someone that can look at my wounds and Brenda’s leg. Wounds. I hadn’t even realised that I’ve been shot twice in a week. Fucking hell. The car is slowing now.

‘What’s going on?’ I ask.

‘The roads jammed with cars.’ Newt says as we all get out of the truck.

‘Well, I guess we're on foot.’ Jorge says moving forwards. I take my guns from my pocket. I picked up a second from the tall guy in the warehouse. Forgot I had it. The group moves forward through the cars. I stay where I am, by Bertha.

‘Maybe we should wait.’ I say. ‘This could be a tr…’ A bullet narrowly missed Thomas.

‘Get down! Take cover!’ Jorge shouts. I sink down behind Bertha and keep watch behind me, with the rear view.

‘Hey, is everyone okay out there?’ Thomas shouts.

‘We're fine.’ Teresa shouts back.

‘Anyone know where those bloody shots came from?’ Newt’s accented voice calls from behind another car. I grin.

‘Everybody! Get set to sprint back to the truck!’ Jorge voice calls out from the car nearest to me. I notice two females walking round the other side of the truck with guns. Keeping quiet, I sprint after them, taking cover behind cars so the others in the mountains don’t see me.

‘And hold your ears!’ Jorge’s voice sounds again.

A few seconds later. ‘Drop it. Now! I said drop it!’ I smirk at Jorge’s face. Letting them get the group together before I move in.

‘On your feet. Let's go. Let's go! Move!’ The dark haired girl shouts. ‘Back up!’ She says again. Stepping out behind them, I cock my guns. ‘You back up,’ I say. The girls slowly turn around.

‘Don’t do anything stupid. We have people up there that will shoot you in a second.’ The blond haired girl says. I narrow my eyes.

‘How quick can they react? Faster than me? I could take the two of you out before they even think about pulling the trigger. Put down your weapons.’ They do as I ask. ‘Take off the scarves.’ Again they do as I ask. Catching Aris’ eye, I motion for him to come here. They look far too well kept to have been out here long.

‘You recognise them? From the facility?’ I ask as Aris moves closer. As soon as Aris sees their faces, he lights up.

‘Oh, my God. Harriet?’ Thought so. I grin a little.

‘Aris?’ The dark haired girl says back. He runs up and hugs her. ‘My God. What the hell are you doing here?’

‘Sonya.’ Aris says, moving over to the blond. I put the safety back on my weapons and put them away.

‘Aris, you're lucky we didn't shoot your dumb ass. You all right, man?’ Sonya says, gripping Aris tightly.

‘How...?’ He laughs.

‘What's happening?’ Minho says, thoroughly confused.

‘They were in the maze together. Right?’ Aris grins and nods. ‘Sorry for pointing my guns at you.’ I chuckle. Harriet laughs.

‘Yeah, us too. We're clear, guys! Come on out!’ She whistles as voices come from all around us.

‘Copy that! We're clear!’

‘Stand down!’ Figures on the top of the mountains appear. I laugh at the sheer number of them.

‘My God, you're alive.’ Sonya says to Aris grabbing his face.

Sonya and Harriet lead us through the cars to a large tunnel, with several camouflage trucks at the end.

‘Back it up, Joe!’ Sonya yells.

‘Back it up!’

‘We're taking them to base.’ Harriet tells some guys standing by the trucks.

‘Wait, so, how did you guys get here?’ Aris asks, still in awe that they are alive.

‘The Right Arm got us out.’ Harriet explains.

‘Wait. The Right Arm? Do you know where they are?’ Thomas questions. I laugh. They group looks at me.

‘They are the Right Arm, idiot. Well part of it anyway.’ I grin at Harriet and Sonya, who smirk back.

‘Hop in.’ Harriet says, opening the door to one of the trucks.

Whilst we drove to meet up with the rest of the Right Arm, Harriet interrogates me for answers.

‘How did you know Aris would recognise us?’ I grinned.

‘You and Sonya look far to preened to have been out here for that long.’ I laugh at their faces. ‘Aris was at the facility for a week when we got there; if anyone was going to recognise you, I would be him.’

‘But how did you know we were in the maze together?’

‘I didn’t at first. I just thought he would recognise you. Then when I saw the way you looked at each other, I realised it was the same way we look at our Gladers. Like family.’ Harriet and Sonya grin.

‘Where did you learn to shoot?’ She asks. My breath hitches at this question. They both look at me.

‘WICKED trained me, before putting me in the maze.’ They both look at me in shock.

‘Wait! You’re Kira?’ I look up in shock.

‘How do you know who I am?’ The girls grin at each other.

‘Are you kidding? You are all the Doc talks about.’ Sonya says. I look over at Newt, who’s sat behind me. He looks just as confused as suppose I do. ‘Oh my god. They’re gonna love this.’

‘Does this doctor know who I am? Who I was, I mean.’ I ask Sonya.

‘I dunno.’ She answers earnestly, ‘I’ll guess you’ll just have to ask her yourself.’ I sigh and rest my head against the side, trying to process that information.

‘So how much do you remember from before? How do you remember?’ Harriet asks.

‘Umm. Well, I was stung by a Griever in the maze. I don’t know whether you had Grievers. Big half metal, half organic spider things. Haunted the maze.’ Aris, Sonya and Harriet all nod.

‘Yeah we had em’. We just called em’ the Stingers. Seemed apt after Kelly got stung. How did you survive it? We never had anyone survive.’ Aris asks.

‘Well, Teresa had come up into the maze about a week earlier. When she came up she had these syringes in her pockets, full of blue liquid. Turns out, they prevent the changing.’

‘Huh, we called it the changing too.’ Aris comments. ‘So you survived the changing, then what?’

‘Well during that I remembered a couple of things. I guess it punched a hole in the cage WICKED put around our memories. Ever since, I’ve been remembering things. Has that been happening to you too?’ I ask Thomas. He nods.

‘Yeah, I’ve remembered a couple of things. Not as many as you though.’

‘Yeah but most the stuff I remember is training. Stupid stuff. Nothing that actually matters.’ I sigh staring at my lap. Newt takes my hand and squeezes it.

‘So you don’t remember anything about your life from before? Before WICKED.’ Harriet inquires.

I nod my head. ‘I remembered one thing. It came back during the changing. My mother.’ Harriet and Sonya gasp. ‘I only remember the night WICKED came to get me, but she was there.’ My eyes fill with tears.

‘What happened to her?’ Aris asks quietly.

‘Aris,’ snaps Sonya. I smile, it’s like a mother berating a child.

‘It’s okay. She died. WICKED killed her. Right in front of me. That’s what I remembered.’ Newt rests to forehead on my shoulder. I lean against his head, trying to push back the tears. A couple escape and I quickly brush them away.

‘So how long were you in the maze for?’ Sonya asks.

‘4 years, give or take.’ I answer quickly grateful for the change of subject.

‘4 years? We were only in there for 3. Rachel and Kelly were in there the longest. They were there for 3 years and 6 months.’ Aris says. I cock my brow.

‘What both of them?’

Harriet nods. ‘Yeah, they started off our maze. Who started yours?’

‘Kira did.’ Newt answers for me. The girls gape.

‘What? On your own?’ I nod.

‘Guess that’s why they trained me, I suppose.’

‘Wow, I mean you could tell you were the leader of sorts but I never imagined…wow.’ I nod.

‘We’re here,’ a male voice from the front calls out.

I look out the window to see a camp. Tents and boxes, and people. But less than I was expecting. We jump out of the car meeting back up with the others from the other car.

‘They've been planning this for over a year now. This is all for us.’ Harriet grins as she walks into camp.

‘You guys are lucky you found us when you did. We're moving out at first light.’ Sonya says, before asking, ‘Where's Vince?’ to some guy.

‘Somewhere over there, I think.’ He replies.

‘Who's Vince?’ I ask.

‘He's the one who decides if you get to stay.’ Harriet says with another grin.

‘I thought the Right Arm was supposed to be an army.’ Minho comments, looking round at the smaller group of people than we were expecting.

‘Yeah, we were. This is all that's left of us. Lot of good people died getting us this far.’ A tall guy with a beard walks up to us. I assume this is Vince. ‘Who are they?’ He asks Harriet.

‘They're Immunes.’ She says confidently. ‘Caught 'em coming up the mountain.’

‘Did you check 'em?’ He asks, obviously not trusting us.

‘I know this guy, Aris. I trust him.’ She points to Aris who is standing behind me.

‘Well, I don't. Check 'em.’ He orders a guard next to us.

‘Hey, boss...’ he says staring at Brenda. I spin around, just in time to see her collapse to the ground.

‘Brenda! Brenda!’ Jorge yells, running up to her.

‘What's going on?’ Vince asks Harriet. She shrugs her shoulders. Shit. The bite. I forgot all about it.

‘Look, I should probably tell you…’ I start.

‘Brenda! Brenda. Brenda, talk to me.’ Jorge cries.

‘I'm sorry. I'm sorry.’ She groans

‘What's going on with her?’ Vince kneels down beside them.

‘Look, I should have said before…’ Everyone ignores me again.

‘I don't know. Brenda, are you all right? Brenda? Talk to me.’

‘What the hell?’ Vince spots the shirt around her ankle and moves it out of the way. The prominent bite mark causes him to jump back and pull his gun. ‘Shit! Crank! We got a Crank!’ Vince shouts, pointing his gun at her. I jump in front of the gun.

‘No! No! Wait, wait!’ I scream holding up my hands. ‘Listen, okay? This just happened, okay? She's not dangerous yet.’ I say trying to get them to see.

‘You shouldn't have brought her here!’ Vince cries as Jorge shouts behind me struggling against the guys that pulled him back.

‘I know.’ I say.

‘We let Cranks in here now, the safe haven doesn't last a week! Step back!’ He commands me.

‘I understand, okay? I understand. Just listen. Please. Please, okay? I told her that you could help. Okay? No. There's got to be something you can do.’ I beg.

‘Yeah, there is.’ Vince relents. I take a deep breath until I hear the cock of his gun. ‘I can put her out of her misery.’ Without thinking I disarm him. Several other guns cock around me.

‘Shit. Look, I’m sorry. Okay. You can have your gun back.’ I say, passing it back to him. He snatches it back, staring at me. ‘But I won’t let you kill her. You’ll have to kill me first.’

Vince shrugs, and points his gun at me.

‘No! No!’ Newt shouts behind me.

‘Vince, that's enough! Let him go. Let him go!’ A woman’s voice calls out from behind Vince. A short lady with long brown hair comes forward. I stare at her. I know her face. Where do I know her face from?

‘She's infected, Doc. There's nothing we can do for her.’ Vince says, but I can barely hear him. I continue to stare at the woman.

‘No, but they can. Hello, Kira. Hello Thomas.’

‘What? You know us?’ Thomas’ voice calls from behind me. The doctor comes to stand in front of me. ‘Yes I know you. Both of you. Interesting. It makes sense they'd put you in the maze Thomas. Though I must admit... I was worried they'd kill you after what you did.’ She smiles at me before walking over to Thomas. I can hardly breathe. I know her face. Where do I know her face from?

‘What I did?’ Thomas says.

‘The first time we spoke, you said you couldn't take it anymore... watching your friends die, one by one. The last time we spoke... you gave me the coordinates of every WICKED compound, trial and lab.’ That I caught. I tuned to look at Thomas.

‘You did that?’ I whisper.

‘He was our source.’ Vince says, shock evident.

‘We couldn't have pulled all this off without him. Take her to the tent. Get these guys some warm clothes.’ A man helps Jorge lift Brenda into a tent. I continue to stare at her. She walks up to me with a smile. ‘You recognise me yet?’

‘I know you.’ I state. ‘But I can’t find you.’ My eyes fill with tears again. Suddenly a name pops into my head. ‘Mary.’ She smiles a broad smile.

‘Keep going. You’re almost there.’ I close my eyes and begin to search my memories anything connected to this woman.

**A dark living room. My mother is dead on the floor. Why am I here? What does this have to do with Mary? I look around the room, I focus in on the photographs. There’s me, and my mum, ad a tall, dark haired man who I assume is my dad. I smile. We look so happy. Moving on to the next ones. More of me. As a baby. As a toddler. My eyes lock on the final picture on the mantelpiece. Me, Mum, Dad, and Mary. Her arms are wrapped around my mother. I notice some similarities between the two of them. Same hair colour, same face and eye shape. Could she be…?**

I open my eyes feeling wet, hot tears streaming down my face.

‘Mary.’ I whisper. ‘You knew my mother. You look so much like her. Are you her sister?’ Mary’s eyes fill with tears and she pulls me into a hug.

‘They wouldn’t let me see you, once they brought you into WICKED. Said I was too close.’ She says before pulling back. ‘I never forgot you. Every day I would think about you, and what they were doing to you.’ Her thumbs brush away my tears. ‘Don’t cry, buttercup.’ She whispers.

 **‘Don’t cry, buttercup.** **It’s only a papercut.’**

**‘But it hurts mummy. Will you sing?’**

**‘Of course my love.**

**_Dancing bears, painted wings_ **

**_Things I almost remember_ **

**_And a song someone sings_ **

**_Once upon a December  
  
_ **

**_Someone holds me safe and warm_ **

**_Horses prance through a silver storm_ **

**_Figures dancing gracefully_ **

**_Across my memory_ **

****

**_Far away, long ago_ **

**_Glowing dim as an ember_ **

**_Things my heart used to know_ **

**_Once upon a December_ **

****

**_Someone holds me safe and warm_ **

**_Horses prance through a silver storm_ **

**_Figures dancing gracefully_ **

**_Across my memory_ **

****

**_Far away, long ago_ **

**_Glowing dim as an ember_ **

**_Things my heart used to know_ **

**_Things it yearns to remember_ **

**_And a song someone sings_ **

****_Once upon a December  
  
_

**‘Is that better, buttercup?’**

**‘Thank you mummy.’**

‘I think I need to sit down.’ I whisper. She nods before saying, ‘Thomas, come on. I need to get some blood from you.’

Leading me into the medical tent, Mary sits me down on one of the beds. I rest my arms on my knees trying to catch my breath. ‘Can you get Newt?’ I whisper, and Thomas nods before telling Mary he will come back.

‘Are you okay?’ Mary asks quietly. I shake my head, then pause, then nod my head, then pause again and shake it again. Mary laughs softly. ‘That’s understandable. I imagine you’re remembering quite a lot in a short space of time. That must be quite daunting.’ I shake my head.

‘I remembered the words.’ I say.

‘The words? To what.’ Mary furrows her brows. I start humming Once Upon A December and a smile lights up onto her face.

‘I always remembered the tune, but never the words.’ I smile up at her. The tent flap opens and Thomas and Newt file in. Thomas goes back to Mary whilst Newt settles in next to me. Gripping my hand he asks, ‘What’s going on?’

‘She’s my aunt.’ I say simply motioning to Mary. ‘My mum’s sister.’ Before Newt can respond, Brenda’s breathing becomes faster and shorter. Standing up fast, I move over to her side and grip her hand.

‘We made it, Brenda.’ I whisper to her. ‘You just need to hold on.’ I raise my eyes to stare at Jorge, though his eyes remain locked on Brenda.

‘In the beginning, we were lost.’ Mary begins after taking some blood from Thomas. We all turn to look at her. ‘All we knew for sure...was that the younger you were, the stronger your chances.’ I furrow my brows.

‘You worked for WICKED?’ Thomas asks. She pauses, turns away and nods solemnly.

‘Long time ago. You know, at first, we had the best intentions. Find a cure, save the world. It was clear you kids were the key, because you were immune. But why? Eventually, we found an answer. An enzyme produced by the brains of the immune. Once separated from the bloodstream... it can serve as a powerful agent to slow the spread of the virus.’ I look down at Brenda, realising what she is saying.

‘So, you found a cure?’ Thomas says brightly.

‘Not exactly. The enzyme can't be manufactured, only harvested from the immune. The young. Of course, that didn't stop WICKED. If they had their way... they'd sacrifice an entire generation. All for this.’ She held up a syringe of blue liquid. ‘A gift of biology. Of evolution. But one not meant for all of us.’ She kneels down by Brenda and injects it straight into the vein on her arm.

‘How long will that give her?’ I ask, looking at Mary.

Mary sighs. ‘It's different for everyone. A few months maybe. But that's the catch, isn't it? She'll always need more.’ I look at Brenda before standing up and walking to the back of the tent.

‘Okay. Let's go outside. Let them rest.’ I hear Mary say. ‘Let's go. She'll be fine.’ Shuffling feet, I’m assuming belonging to Jorge leave the tent. ‘Kira,’ I turn to look at Mary. ‘She nods at my shoulders. I give her a small smile and walk towards her. Sitting down on one of the beds, I strip off my jacket and shirt, which are both stained with dry blood. I hear a sharp intake of breath from behind me and turn to see Thomas and Newt whispering in the far corner. I turn back to Mary, who is looking at my shoulder in anger.

‘They’re not that bad.’ I say to her to get her attention. She humphs dismissively and begins to remove the makeshift bandages on my shoulder and the WICKED owned one on my arm.

‘These should have been changed days ago.’ She grumbles. ‘You’re lucky you don’t have an infection!’

‘Sorry,’ I reply snarkily. ‘Been a bit busy over the last few days.’ She looks up and glares at me, before it dissolves into a small smile.

‘You remind me so much of your mum.’ She whispers. This catches my attention.

‘Really? How?’

‘Your sass for one.’ She grins. ‘Your accent for another.’ I raise an eyebrow. ‘Your mum and dad moved to England quite soon after they got married. You came along a couple of years later and they moved back when you were four. Anna always loved the English accent, she was a bit on an Anglophile if I’m honest.’ I grinned thinking of Newt. She would have loved him then. ‘She was thrilled but thoroughly confused when you started talking and it came out with an English accent. Your dad was convinced it was because that’s the accent you had heard most in the womb, but I dunno.’ I giggle at that. Mary grabs a wet cloth and begins washing my arm and shoulder. ‘You’ve pulled these stitches.’ She comments poking at my arm a bit. I roll my eyes, but wince as she pokes a bit harder as punishment. I mockingly glare up at her. After a minute or so of silence, I turn again to see if Thomas and Newt are still here. Thomas has lain down on one of the beds, whilst Newt is leaning on the one of the poles keeping an eye on me. I grin and beckon him over. He walks over and places himself on the other side of the bed from me.

‘You okay?’ I ask. He shakes his head looking at my shoulder.

‘What happened there?’

‘The WICKED gunmen in the warehouse. One of them clipped me.’

‘That’s not a clip.’ He says quickly. ‘He got ya, there.’ I look at him and narrow my eyes slightly.

‘You’re pissed, aren’t you?’ He looked down at his legs and then at Mary.

‘I just need to stitch these and then I’ll be out of your hair.’ She says quickly, reaching for a needle and beginning to sterilise it. He nods and looks back at his legs. I hang my head and sigh. I knew this was coming.

‘You ready?’ Mary says, making me look at her. I nod. ‘I don’t have anything to numb it so it’s gonna hurt.’ I smile a bit.

‘I can handle it.’ Mary takes a breath and pierces my skin. My body tenses up at the pain and a small groan escapes my mouth. Newt shuffles closer to me and takes my hand. I lean my head on his shoulder and close my eyes. Breathing deeply, I squeeze Newt’s hand as Mary shifts the needle in and out of my skin. After a few minutes she pulls away and instructs Newt to move to my other side. I keep my eyes closed as my head begins to spin. Newt’s hand grabs my other hand and I lean my head back onto his shoulder. It takes about 20 minutes for Mary to finish stitching me up and wrapping up my wounds. I lay back onto the bed and wait for my head to stop spinning.

‘Give her this, when she sits up.’ Mary says. I feel her hand touch my shoulder. ‘You know she can't come with us, right?’ I open my eyes and see her staring at Brenda. I nod gently and close my eyes again.


	25. The Talk

Chapter 8

A weight pushes down on the bed next to me.

‘I know you want to talk, but can we do it later?’ I ask.

‘Yeah,’ Newt’s voice comes back. ‘So long as we do talk.’ I open my eyes to look at him. He looks tired. I take his hand.

‘We will. I promise.’ He smiles slightly and squeezes my hand.

‘You wanna sit up?’ I nod as Newt helps me swing my legs over and sit up. ‘Here, she told me to give you this.’ I nod and take the cup. Sniffing it, the distinct waft of alcohol tickles my nose. I look up at Newt and he shrugs. Tipping up the glass I pour the amber-coloured liquid down my throat and savour the burning sensation. Newt chuckles, before kissing me on the cheek and saying, ‘I’m gonna go check on the others.’ I smile at him and watch him duck under the tent flap.

My gaze falls on Brenda, who is still sleeping on the bed. Getting up, I walk over and sit down on the bed next to her. Her breathing has eased now and she looks, almost peaceful. I notice the object that she went back for in the warehouse, sticking out from underneath her. I gently take it, and pop the top. It’s a mirror, with a picture of a boy in the top half. Tears prick at my eyes as I recognise the boy’s small face.

‘George.’ I whisper staring at it.

‘He was my brother.’ I flicked my eyes away from George’s face and towards Brenda.

‘Hey. Are you okay? How are you feeling?’ I ask hurriedly sitting down next to her and handing her the mirror. She takes it, and stares at the picture.

‘He always saw the best in people.’ I looked down at my knees, trying to decide what to say.

‘When we were kids...we were taken in by one of WICKED's camps. They gave us a bunch of tests. They didn't want me. They wanted him, though. They didn't even let me say good-bye.’ A lone tear trickled down my face. ‘His name was George, but you knew that already didn’t you?’ I look back at her and nod gently.

‘He was in our maze. Came in pretty early.’ I whisper.

‘He’s dead isn’t he?’ Her voice came out quiet but strong. I nod again. ‘How?’

‘In the maze, we had these monsters called Grievers. If they sting you, you die. George is the reason we know that.’ She nods.

‘Was it painful?’ I shake my head quickly.

‘No,’ I lie. ‘It was quick.’ I felt my body lurch at the lie. You’re protecting her from the truth. If she knew, she would never forgive herself. I feel myself reach into the pocket of my jacket and pull out a small knife. I hand it to her gently.

‘That was Chuck.’ I say quietly. Seeing movement, my eyes flick to Thomas, who had woken up and is starting towards us.

‘This too.’ He says as he reaches us, holding Chuck’s bloodstained owl. Brenda took this as well, staring at them. Thomas comes and sits down next to me as we wait for her to say something.

‘How did he die?’ She whispers. We pause, thinking back. My answer catches in my throat causing nothing to come out.

‘Saving my life.’ Thomas whispers.

‘Our lives,’ I counter looking at him, putting my hand on his knee. She smiles giving us both back our things. I stand.

‘Get some rest.’ I say to Brenda. She smiles. Thomas and I leave quietly. I wait for Thomas to leave the tent before following.

Standing right outside the tent is Jorge. His face looks about 20 years older than it did yesterday. I give him a small smile.

‘Hermana.’ He says before pulling me into a hug. I chuckle as I pat his back. If anything were to happen to her, I...’ He starts.

‘I know, I know. You should get in there. Go talk to her.’ I say. ‘She needs you.’

‘I guess I owe you, now.’ I smile before shaking my head.

‘You got us here.’ I whisper, gesturing around. ‘Count us even.’ He nods before going inside. I chuckle before wandering through camp. I chuckle as I see Aris sat with Sonya and Harriet.

‘So we broke out.’ He’s telling them. The girls both laugh. ‘I'm telling the truth.’ He says with a grin.

‘Couldn’t have done it without him!’ I call towards them. Both girls look at me wide eyed and then at Aris. I laugh before raising my eyebrows at Aris. He grins again before turning back to the girls to finish the story. Turning away, I keep an eye out for the others and continue to wander through camp.

‘Hey,’ a voice calls. I stop to see Vince coming up to me.

‘Hi,’ I say. ‘I’m really sorry about earlier. I’d completely forgotten she was bitten. I kinda had a lot on my mind.’

He grins before saying, ‘Don’t worry about it. How you feeling?’

‘Good,’ I respond. ‘All stitched up again so…’ He nods. I continue to look at him. ‘Did you need something?’

He shook his head. ‘No, just thought you’d like to know that your friends are up there.’ He pointed to a small cliff that overlooked the camp. I could just about make out the top of Frypan’s head. I nodded.

‘Thanks.’ Vince smiled before leaving.

Walking up the hill, I could hear the boys chatting at the top.

‘I wish Alby could've seen all this.’ Newt says.

‘And Winston.’ Frypan adds.

‘And Chuck.’ This was Thomas.

‘He'd be proud of you, you know, Tommy.’ Newt says quietly.

‘Yeah.’ He whispers. Reaching the top, I plonk myself down beside Newt.

‘You okay?’ Minho asks. ‘We can’t afford to be held back having to haul your ass along, you know!’ I grin at him.

‘Don’t worry, I’m fine.’ I say before smacking him on the upside of the head.

‘Oww!’ He groans. ‘What was that for?’

‘That was for thinking you would have to “haul my ass about”. My ass is staying put, thank you very much.’

‘Fair enough,’ He laughs, holding his hands up. I sneak a quick look at Newt who is looking at me. Giving him a small smile, I motion away from the group. He nods and we both move to get up.

‘Hey, Aris!’ Frypan calls.

‘Hey, guys!’ Aris’ voice echo’s from the camp.

‘I kinda like that kid.’ Frypan says, smiling at us.

‘Yeah. I still don't trust him, though.’ Minho says, with a cheeky grin.

‘If it wasn’t for that kid,’ I say gently, ‘we would still be with WICKED. Just remember that.’

‘I know, Kira.’ He says, ‘It was a joke.’ I sigh before heading down the hill. The crunching of the rocks behind me tells me Newt is following.

I find a small cut out section away from the camp. Perching on a rock, I wait for Newt to join me. He comes round the rocks and sighs. I take deep breath and look at him.

‘I dunno what to say…’ I whisper. Newt sighs.

‘Fine, then I’ll talk.’ He says. ‘I knew, in the Glade, that you would do anything for anyone; whether it be cooking us a meal or risking your life against a Griever. Okay. I know that, that is just who you are. You feel responsible for us. But you need to stop. We’re not in the Glade anymore. You cannot protect us from every little thing that comes along. Especially not if you are putting yourself in harm’s way to do it!’ I open my mouth to answer back. ‘You have been shot. Twice. Within a week. Both times protecting someone.’ I laugh bitterly at this. ‘What?’ He says.

‘Fat lot of good that did huh. Chuck still died. Winston still died. Brenda still got bitten.’ I spit, getting irritated.

‘But that’s not your fault! Stop blaming yourself for events that are out of your control!’ Newt shouts.

‘Everything is supposed under my control! I let that slip and that is why they are dead!’ I storm off leaving Newt gaping after me. Reaching the camp I see Brenda sitting at the camp fire with the others. I go over to join them.

‘Everything okay?’ Minho asks. I nod, not even going to try and explain right now. Newt joins the group as well, sitting on the other side of the fire. Minho, Thomas, Teresa and Frypan stare at me and then at Newt. I ignore them and focus on Brenda. She smiles at me.

‘I was just telling the others what happened when we got separated.’ I inwardly groaned. Newt is not going to like this story, one bit. Outwardly though I smile and motion for her to go on.

‘So like I was saying, I reached out to grab a bar to pull myself up with, when the bar came loose and I fell down about 40 to 50 metres, at a 90 degree angle. ‘The group gasped as I kept my eyes locked on Newt. He was looking anywhere but me. I have to admit, Brenda was a good story teller but I kinda wish she would leave out all the terrifying death bit. ‘The floor to this room was as vertical as the stairs and at the bottom were full length windows. I didn’t even realise as we were climbing that this whole building was leaning over a huge, like, ravine thing, which this window was hanging over! I fell onto this window and it started to crack, every time I moved. Kira told me not to move, but I ignored her which probably wasn’t the best idea in hindsight.’ She shot me a small smile. I forced a grin onto my face. ‘Anyway long story short, Kira slid down like a superhero, to rescue me. But then a crank slid down as well and attacked me, so Kira grabbed my hand and shot out the window from underneath me. The crank dropped to its death and I was safely hanging on to Kira.’ She grins at me.

‘You got bit in that fight, remember!’ I say, to which Brenda just waves off.

‘She is super strong! If she lost hold of me when she shot that window out, she would have dropped as well. And with a shot shoulder and a shot arm. You risked your life, for someone you just met. You could have died. Seriously you’re either crazy tough or just crazy.’ Newt gets up and storms off before Brenda can say another thing. Everyone looks at me in confusion.

‘Really wished you’d left out the possible death.’ I say and follow him. He doesn’t get very far before he spins round. ‘Newt,’ I start.

‘Don’t.’

‘Will you just let me…?’

‘No,’ He says glaring.

‘What do you want me to say?! That I won’t get hurt? This is the world we live in. It’s dangerous and people get hurt and die. I said to you a long time ago that we can’t get annoyed at each other for putting ourselves in dangerous situations!’ I shrug my shoulders in frustration. Why won’t he say anything?! ‘Please say something.’ I sigh.

‘I wasn’t there.’ He says quietly.

‘What?’

‘You nearly died again, and I wasn’t there.’ I look at him in shock.

‘I, I had to protect Brenda. She was gonna die. I had to do something.’ I stutter out.

‘You always have to do something!’ His voice starts to raise. ‘You are so focused on protecting other people that you don’t look out for yourself! You have been shot. Twice. In a week. And you don’t even flinch. One of us gets a papercut and you’re at that paper like it’s WICKED!’ His words come out in a shout now.

‘WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?’ I scream at him.

‘BE SELFISH! PUT YOURSELF FIRST! DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE WOULD DO IF YOU DIED? DO YOU KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO?’ He roars gesturing around at the watching group of Gladers.

‘I’M TRYING TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE I LOVE!’

‘SO AM I!! He screams, gesturing furiously at me.

I stand in shocked silence, staring at Newt. His face is red, his hair tousled from him running his hands through it in frustration, and his eyes sparkling with fury. Did he just say what I think he said?

He just said he loved me.

He just said…

He loves me.

Moving forward quickly, I grab him by the lapels of his jacket and crash our lips together. Heat flares from my stomach as I move my lips against his. My skin tingles at the sensation of his hands resting on my hips. As I begin to pull back, he wraps his arms around the small of my back and pulls me back towards him. I move my hands from his lapels and wrap them around his neck, playing with the small piece of hair at the nape of his neck. A tightening in my chest alerts me to the need to come up for air, so putting my hands on his chest, I pull pack and look at him. His eyes are still shining, but not with rage anymore. With something softer, something deeper, something that makes me want to jump up and down in the air with joy.

‘Sorry,’ I whisper. His arms, still wrapped around me, tense and then shudder and Newt laughs. ‘Guess I couldn’t help myself.’

‘Next time you can’t help yourself, give me a bit of warning. You scared the crap out of me, surging forward like that.’ He jokes with a grin. I giggle and let my head fall onto his shoulder.

‘THANK FUCKING GOD!’ shouts a voice from behind us. Minho. ‘MUM AND DAD HAVE MADE UP! CARRY ON!’ Newt and I turn to look at him. Minho smirks at the pair of us before jogging over. I glare at him and shake my head. He instantly notices, makes an 180˚, and heads back in the opposite direction. Newt laughs causing me to turn back and look at him. Wrapping my arms around his neck again, I whisper, ‘I love you too.’ Newt looks at me with a small smile before leaning down and kissing me again. It’s soft this time, gentle. I feel a tear leak out of the corner of my eye. Newt obviously feels it because he pulls back to look at me.

‘Hey,’ he whispers, ‘what is it?’

‘I’m sorry.’ I say finally. ‘I’m sorry for making you worry. I just thought about how I’d feel if I lost you and…’ Newt shakes his head slowly, moving his hands away from my waist to hold my face. His thumbs brush away at the light stream of tears falling over my cheeks.

‘Don’t think about that. You were right. This is the world we’re living in now, but were about to enter a new chapter now. Were gonna go to the safe haven, and were gonna sleep and eat and laugh like we have always done.’ I chuckle at this. ‘I can’t make any promises that we won’t need to fight anymore. We both know WICKED aren’t just going to let us leave but for now…’ Newt doesn’t get to finish that sentence before I kiss him again. I pull back giving him a wide smile and take his hand, leading him back to the others. As we walk back over I notice that Teresa is now absent from the group. Before I can question this however, Minho bounds up to us like small child.

‘So…’ he starts. I give him a glare. He ignores this and grins at me before pulling Newt away and towards the boys. I roll my eyes before settling down by the fire with Sonya, Harriet and Brenda. I look round at them as the grin manically at me.

‘What?’ Brenda rolls her eyes.

‘What happened?’ Sonya asks, motioning over to the group of boys all with similar grins. 

‘We had a fight and then made up.’ I sum up simply. Brenda rolls her eyes again.

‘Oh come on,’ she says, ‘The other boys were saying that you two never fight. That this was the first time.’ I laugh.

‘Oh, I see, so whilst we were arguing, you guys were gossiping.’

‘Of course we were!’ Harriet says. ‘This is the most interesting thing that has happened since we got here.’ She nods to Sonya. A large ‘WAYYYYYY!!’ comes from the boys. I roll my eyes this time.

‘He was pissed that I kept putting myself in danger. Your story didn’t help.’ I state looking over to Brenda. She just grins at me.

‘And…’ Sonya pushes.

‘And we argued and then he told me he loved me.’ I rush the last part of the sentence but the girls get the jist.

‘OH MY GOD!’ Sonya squeals, throwing her arms round me. The sudden rush of affection from her startles me somewhat, but I give her a small side hug back.

‘You said it back right?’ Harriet asks.

‘After I kissed him, yeah.’ I nod feeling my cheeks begin to burn. We all begin to laugh as Sonya and Harriet begin to dance round the fire.

‘ _Newt and Kira, sitting in a tree…_ ’ They begin. Minho seeing this as a brilliant chance to embarrass us runs over to join. ‘ _K I S S I N G! First comes love…_ ’

‘CHECK!’ Minho shouts.

‘ _Then comes marriage…_ ’ Minho just looks pointedly at me. I narrow my eyes at him.

‘ _Then comes a baby in a baby carriage!_ ’ They all squeal with glee together. I roll my eyes and look at Newt. He grins at me and rolls his eyes. ‘What do you expect?’ they say. I chuckle and raise my eyebrows. ‘From Minho, nothing.’ He laughs and comes over to sit by me.

‘Hey,’ he whispers.

‘Hey,’ I reply leaning my head on his shoulder. ‘So girl talk was fun. How was boy talk?’

‘Oh you know,’ he grins. ‘It was mainly Minho asking questions and then answering them himself since he seemed to have seen the whole thing.’ I laugh.

‘That little sneak.’ He grins at me.

‘How was girl talk?’ He asks.

‘I don’t think I’m very good at it. I’ve never done real girl talk before so it was a bit… stilted. But Harriet and Sonya, who seem to be well versed in the act of girl talk, manged to worm out some answers.’

‘Well their maze was full of girls, I suppose.’ I chuckle.

Remembering about Teresa, I ask Thomas where she is.

‘I don’t know, she disappeared the same time you and Newt did.’ I furrow my brows. I don’t have a good feeling about this. ‘What is it?’ He asks, walking over.

Not caring that Newt is beside me, I say, ‘Did she tell you about her doubts?’ Thomas nods grimly.

‘Do you want me to go and find her?’ I nod.

‘Would you? I’m worried that she’ll do something stupid.’ Thomas nods and heads off in search of her. I lean back against Newt, chewing my lip.

‘Doubts?’ He asks quietly.

‘They gave her, her memories back. She remembered all the reasons that she began working for them in the first place. She had doubts, about whether us leaving was the right thing to do.’ I whisper. Newt inhales a sharp intake of breath.

‘That was what you were talking about. When you brushed it off as girl talk.’ I nod against his shoulder.

‘Yep. See, not great at girl talk.’ I sigh. ‘I gave her the option of leaving and going back or continuing with us. She chose to stay, but I’m worrying now that, she may have had ulterior motives.’ Newt looks at me.

‘Like what?’

‘If she really is on WICKED’s side, then who do WICKED fear the most?’

Newt gasps. ‘The Right Arm.’ I nod. ‘We have to warn them.’ I nod again getting up from my place. I look around for Vince and Mary, eventually finding them in the main tent. They both smile at Newt and I when we enter, but they become more sober when they see our expressions.

‘What’s wrong?’ Mary says, walking up to me.

‘We think, we’ve done something really bad.’ I whisper. She furrows her brows and looks between us. ‘One of our group… she has doubts… about whether we’re the doing the right thing. We… I thought that she would okay, that once she saw this place, heard about the trials from a different perspective, that… she would come round, but… now I’m not so sure.’

‘What do you think she would do?’ Vince asks, walking up to us. I look over to Newt.

‘You know her best.’ He says quietly.

‘I think she would try to get in contact, and if she does she could tell them we are or they could track her signal.’ I take a deep breath realising the impact that could happen.

‘Do you think they are coming?’ Mary asks. I think about it for a second and nod.

‘How long?’ Vince asks, picking up his gun.

‘I don’t know.’ I say, trying to produce a timeline. ‘If they are coming the facility we were at that’s hundreds of miles, but they have helicopters so a couple of hours if she just told them.’

‘And if she didn’t just tell them?’ Mary asks.

‘Seconds, Minutes, I don’t know.’ I whisper, my voice shaking.

‘Then we better be prepared for when they do. Vince…’ He nods and leaves the tent. Shouts and the sound of people running signal Vince getting ready. I turn to Mary, with tears in my eyes.

‘I’m so sorry. We’ve ruined everything. Everything you have built.’ Mary shakes her head and takes my hand.

‘You have given us time. We don’t know long but more than we would have had.’ I nod as she leaves. I turn Newt, Janson’s words ringing in my ears.

**He stands in front of me, gun in hand. I have one to, the cold metal resting comfortably in my hands. ‘You’re about to enter a warzone, emotions cloud your judgement, emotions make you weak.’**

‘We can’t try to protect each other out there.’ I say quietly taking his hand. ‘No more than we would the others. We have to focus on protecting ourselves.’ Newt nods gently. ‘I can’t be worrying about you. And you can’t worry about me either. We have to stay focused.’

‘Ok.’ He whispers. ‘But if you die, doing something heroic, I swear to god I’ll kill you myself.’

‘Right back at’cha.’ I say with a chuckle. We stand there for a few moments, in the mouth of the tent, clutching each other’s hands like this is it. I take in a shaky breath and Newt pulls me in for a hug. I grip the back of his shirt as the tears threaten to fall. Pulling back, he puts his hand on my neck and pulls me in for a kiss. Desperate and full of feeling, our mouths move together. My hands settle round his neck, whilst his stay on my neck and hip.

A loud **BOOM** and a wave of heat pulls us from our moment. Adrenaline rushes through my body as I grip my guns, quickly checking that they are full. I nod at Newt as we rush out into the chaos.


	26. We Fight!

Chapter 9

Newt and I quickly get separated as he rushes to find the others. I try to stay calm and collected as I process the scene in front of me. Several of the surrounding tents are up in flames. People are running trying to avoid the ever growing flames. The air is thick with smoke. I rush forwards the centre of the camp. 3 or 4 helicopters are surrounding the area bathing it in light. WICKED soldiers are sliding down from them armed to the back teeth. I try to find Mary. Seeing her off to the side with some others I race towards them.

‘Mary!’ I scream. ‘We gotta go!’

‘Take 'em out!’ An electronic sounding voice shouts from the side of me. A WICKED soldier is coming up to us fast.

‘Go Kira!’ Mary shouts, and for once in my life I do as I’m told. Running from the soldiers I see Vince and Harriet shooting from an old truck. I rush over jumping onto the truck.

‘What do you need me to do?!’ I shout to Vince.

‘Cover me whilst we get this working!’ He shouts motioning to a machine gun he is assembling.

‘I can do that!’ I scream, stuffing one gun into my trousers and lining up the other one. We’re quite a big target here and several if the soldiers seem to have caught ono that. Scanning the oncoming swarm of soldiers I choose the closest to us.

**BANG**

I release my first shot and hit him straight in the chest. The bullet bounces of his body armour but pushes him back a few paces. I flick my eyes over his body looking for an opening. The knees! They haven’t covered up their knees because it would hinder their movement. I hide a smirk as I let of two bullets.

**BANG BANG**

The man in front goes down clutching his legs. I almost want to marvel at my work but more are coming as fast as we can take them down.

‘Harriet! Ammo!’ Vince shouts trying to get the machine gun up and ready. Switching my aim to the next guy I release 2 more bullets, and 2 more and 2 more until I’m out. Throwing my empty gun on the ground I pull out my second and keep firing. Soldiers fall left, right and centre but more keep coming.

‘I can’t hold them off for long!’ I scream to Vince.

‘Kira! Vince! Harriet!’ Minho’s voice carries across the camp. Flicking my gaze quickly I see Minho launching himself across the camp followed by Frypan, Jak and Newt. I look at them for long enough to make sure they are not hurt before going back to taking care of the soldiers.

‘Come on!’ Vince shouts.

Over here!’ Harriet, this time.

‘How can we help?’ Minho shouts crouching by the edge of the truck.

‘Give them a gun!’ I scream at Vince as the others reach us.

‘Hey! Do you know how to use this thing?’ Vince shouts to Minho, giving him his shotgun. Minho cocks the gun in answer. Seeing a pile of guns on the floor of the truck, I crouch down chucking one to Newt, Jak and Fry.

‘Cover me! This fifty's our only chance!’ Vince shouts.

‘Go for the knees!’ I scream. They nod and begin to shoot. Focusing in on my section I fire 2 more bullets. Again and again and again.

‘Vince, hurry up! There's too many of them.’ Newt shouts as the soldiers keep coming.

‘I'm out!’ Fry shouts, I flick my eyes to the floor.

‘We’re out to.’ I scream. Noticing one soldier hiding behind a barrel, I line up my shot, but before I can let it off he stands and throws a grenade at us. Shit! I grab Vince and throw us off the side of the truck as the grenade goes off. I should have known it would been an electric one considering the guns, but I didn’t. Fire runs through my veins as my legs give out. I hit the floor with such force that my head cracks down onto the ground and blood begins to drip down my head. I can see Newt. He’s lying a couple of metres away from me. I try to move but my body won’t let me. The soldiers advance on us and begin to drag us towards the centre of the camp. The dirt underneath me rubs at the fabric of my trousers, and the heat from the flames hurts my eyes. My head throbs as the soldier drops me back onto the floor. Another grabs my arms and pulls me up onto my knees before kneeling down in front of me and taking of his mask.

‘Oh Janson’s gonna love this.’ He says to me with a smirk. ‘We got his girl!’ He shouts to the others. Laughs and jeers echo from round the camp.

‘I’m nobody’s girl.’ I spit before head butting him in the face. I feel a crack as the bone in his nose breaks under my skull as he falls back clutching his face.

‘You bitch!’ He shouts standing up. I grin at the blood streaming down his face. I look across the line I’m in. Newt is on my left with a small smile on his face. Minho is next to him along with the others. To my right there is a gap before more people are lined up including Mary and Vince. Mary is staring at me, pride shining through her eyes. I nod gently at her as she smiles. Sonya is pushed past me being held by another soldier. She is forced down onto her knees next to Fry. The soldier takes out a machine like Jorge had and scans her neck.

‘B-4.’ He says.

‘How many did we get?’ That nasally tone interrupts my thoughts as to what B-4 could mean. I look up and see Janson waltzing down the path looking all high and mighty. I glare at him as he gazes around at his prisoners.

‘All of them. Give or take.’ A man with a clipboard (Again with the fucking clipboards. Is this like a club or something I don’t know about!) to his left.

‘Give or take what?’ Janson asks keeping his eyes on me.

‘Well, they lost a few.’ The man says smugly. The soldier cataloguing us moves quickly down the line.

‘A-4.’

‘A-6.’

‘B-3.’ Janson looks up at the guard closest to him, blood still streaming from his face. I grin again.

‘What happened to your face?’ He asked as if he already knew the answer. He soldier just glared at me, as Janson whipped around to smile at me. ‘Still using your same old tricks, I see.’ He comments smoothly. ‘Where's Thomas?’

‘Right here.’ Thomas’ voice comes from the side of the group. I whip round to stare at him. He got away. What the fuck was he doing handing himself in. He must have a plan. He’s got to. He wouldn’t be so stupid as to…’

‘Freeze! Go!’ The soldiers shouted rushing around him pulling him forward towards Janson.

‘Thomas.’ Janson says, putting his arms out as if he was going to give him a hug. Ew, no don’t give him a hug, you disgusting little weasel. At the last second Janson moves and punches Thomas in the stomach. Still probably easier to handle than a hug, I think to myself, but struggle against the guard holding me anyway. ‘Get him in line.’ Janson says as Thomas is pushed down next to me.

‘You okay?’ I whisper to him. He nods still trying to get his breath back.

‘Okay.’ Janson smiles, ‘Bring her in.’

‘Why didn't you run?’ Minho whispers to Thomas.

‘I'm tired of running.’ Is his response. Janson kneels in front of me, too far back for me to head-butt him though, I notice.

‘You’re going to be on your best behaviour, okay?’ He grins at me. Supressing a shiver of disgust, I push a sarcastic smile onto my face.

‘Aren’t I always?’ I quip. Janson grins again and my smile curls into a grimace. A soldier grips hold of my shoulders tightly causing me to whimper as his nails dig into my wound. Janson takes a handkerchief out of his pocket, licks it and then wipes at the blood on my forehead.

‘Got to make sure you are looking your best.’ He trills before standing up and moving over to the guards. As he does this another helicopter flies overhead before coming to land a shirt way-a-way from us. The dust from the floor whips into our faces causing us to try and cover our eyes. The base of the helicopter opens and four fully kitted out soldiers, march down in formation followed by one Dr Ava Paige. She walks down the slope gently before coming to a stop in front of us all. I glare at her.

‘Is this all of them?’ She asks Janson.

‘Most of them.’ He replies. Dr Paige gives him a look. ‘It'll be enough.’ He finishes.

‘Start loading them in.’ She says coldly.

‘Yes, ma'am. Okay, you heard. Let's go!’ Janson orders as the soldiers begin to haul people up and into the helicopter. ‘Get 'em on!’ Dr Paige walks forward before motioning for Thomas and I to stand. Thomas does without aid, but I do not get that option. The soldier gripping my shoulders pulls me to my feet.

‘Hello, Thomas.’ She says ignoring me completely. Shaking the soldier’s hands off me I charge towards Dr Paige. A guard steps in front of her, gun out, causing me to stop. Ava puts her hand on the guards arm pushing him aside. ‘Kira,’ she smiles sweetly. I glare in return. ‘I’m glad to see you’re not harmed, too badly.’

‘Yeah, no thanks to you.’ I snap. Dr Paige shrugs and refocuses her attention to her new recruit. Teresa is being guided through the group by another guard.

‘I'm glad you're safe.’ Ava says reaching out for her.

‘What the hell?’ Minho whispers staring at Teresa. I’d forgotten that they didn’t know.

‘Teresa?’ Fry look at Teresa betrayal all over his face.

‘Wait, what's going on?’ Jak says, thoroughly confused.

‘She's with them.’ I snarl glaring at her.

‘Since when?’ Minho asks.

‘Teresa's always had an evolved appreciation of the greater good. Once we restored her memories, it was only a matter of time.’ Janson grins smugly at us, before walking over and putting his hand on Teresa’s arm. I cough out a bitter laugh.

‘Greater good? What would any of you know of the greater good? Everything you do is so that you can live. You don’t give a crap about any of us.’

‘I'm sorry. I had no choice. This is the only way. We have to find a cure.’ Teresa implores.

‘She's right.’ Ava says. ‘This is all just a means to an end. You used to understand that, Thomas. No matter what you think of me... I am not a monster. I'm a doctor. I swore an oath to find a cure! No matter the cost.’

‘A doctor?’ I laugh for real this time. ‘Doctors heal people. They don’t kill them. They don’t torture them.’

‘That’s what I’m doing,’ Ava says walking towards me. Her guards shift uneasily. ‘I’m trying to heal people. I just need more time.’

‘More blood.’ Mary’s voice calls from behind us. I feel her walking up behind me and my racing heartbeat calms slightly. I turn to look at her. She smiles gently at me reaching for my hand.

‘Hello, Mary. I hoped we'd meet again. I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances.’ Ava says from behind me. Mary squeezes my hand.

‘I'm sorry about a lot of things, too. But not this. At least my conscience is clear.’ Her voice comes out strong and in that moment, I feel so proud to be her niece.

‘So is mine.’ A gunshot echoes round the camp, causing my heart to skip. Whirling round I see Ava staring at Mary whilst Janson comes from behind her, gun in hand. I stare at him and memories fill my head.

**My mother is lying on the floor. Blood pools around her. I turn to stare at the soldiers. ‘You didn’t have to kill her.’ The voice is muffled like were underwater. I watch as the figure with the gun removes his mask and stares down at me. Janson. His crooked nose is straight and his hair doesn’t have the greying sides, but it’s him. He killed my mother.**

Fury overwhelms me like a wave. I launch forward knocking the gun out of his hands as my hands find his throat. ‘YOU KILLED HER! YOU KILLED MY MOTHER! YOU KILLED MARY! IT WAS YOU! IT WAS ALWAYS YOU!’ I scream until my throat is raw, pushing my thumbs ever deeper into his neck. His eyes bulge as the airflow gets cut off. Gripping as hard as I can I fight against the arms trying to pull me away. Janson’s eyes become bloodshot and massive. A soldier hits at my arms with the butt of the gun and the pain caused my grip to loosen. Janson flied back coughing and trying to catch his breath.

‘Mary? Mary? Mary! Mary! Mary! Get off me! Mary? Mary? Mary? Mary? No! Mary! No!’ Vince’s cries mingle with my own as I fight against the men holding me.

‘Don’t hurt her.’ Ava commands calmly.

‘DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TERESA. SHE WAS TRYING TO HELP US! SHE WAS TRYING TO HELP EVERYONE AND YOU KILLED HER. HER DEATH IS ON YOU. ALL OF THIS IS ON YOU. LOOK AROUND TERESA. LOOK AT THE CONCEQUENCES.’ I shriek until I can’t fight anymore and flop onto the ground. Teresa has tears falling down her face. 

‘Come on, Janson. Load them up. Let's go. All these people. Get rid of them.’ Ava says sternly, looking at me. I stand and glare at her defiantly.

‘I’m not going anywhere, and neither is anyone else. Thomas whatever you have planned, do it now.’ Thomas leaps into action, elbowing the guy behind him and pulling out Jorge’s bomb.

‘Everyone, stand back! Stand back!’ he shouts holding the bomb in front of him. I back away from Janson and Ava and stand beside Thomas.

‘Hold your fire!’ Janson croaks.

‘Everyone, stand back!’ Thomas yells.

‘Hold your fire!’ Janson.

‘Stand back. Let 'em go.’ Thomas.

‘Thomas, put it down.’ Ava says panic lining her face.

‘Let 'em all go!’ He shouts motioning to the others.

‘You know I can't do that!’ Ava groans shaking her head.

‘Thomas, please stop. I made a deal with them. They promised we'd be safe. All of us.’ Teresa begs.

‘And I'm supposed to trust you now?’ Thomas scoffs.

‘It's true. It was her only condition.’ Ava says.

‘And what, were supposed to trust you. After everything you have done to us!’ I whisper disbelievingly.

‘Everything can go back to the way it was. Thomas... do you really want all of them to die?’ Ava motions to the other Gladers.

‘Listen to her, Thomas. Think about what you're doing.’ Janson croaks again. “Ribbit” I look over at the Gladers who are looking between themselves. Minho moves first the others following. Minho, Jak, Fry and Newt all surround us. I walk to stand behind Thomas and grip Newt’s hand squeezing it tight.

‘We're with you, Thomas.’ Minho says quietly putting a hand on his shoulder.

‘No.’ Teresa whimpers from beside Ava.

‘Don't.’ Ava says, pitch rising in panic.

‘Do it, Thomas. We're ready.’ Fry says.

‘We're not going back there.’ I whisper leaning my head on Thomas’ shoulder.

‘Thomas?’ Ava starts.

‘It's the only way.’ Thomas’ voice is shaky, so I wrap my free arm round his waist.

‘Do it.’ I whisper in his ear.

‘Thomas!’ Ava shrieks.

Thomas sighs and moves his finger towards the trigger. I turn my head to stare at Newt but catch sight of a truck barrelling down the road towards us. The horn blares out knocking us all from out stupor.

‘Go!’ I scream, running towards the machine gun. A foot hooks around mine forcing me to the ground. I scramble back up to see Janson glaring at me.

‘Round 2?’ I quip with a grin. He rams into the side of me causing me to fall again but this time I take him with me. Spinning us over, I punch him again and again in the face.

‘Stamina!’ He screams as I start to get tired. He flips us over again causing me to hit the floor hard. I gasp trying to catch my breath, as Janson stands over my holding his gun to my head. I try to scramble back but he puts a foot on my injured shoulder causing me to howl in pain. ‘What a waste.’ He says, but before he can pull the trigger a gunshot sounds knocking Janson to his back. I whip my head around to see Brenda armed with a rifle, grinning at me. Before I can respond another gunshot alerts me to my surroundings and I continue running to the truck. Leaping onto the truck, I grip the trigger and let the bullets fly. Soldiers drop left and right. Any of our people are smart enough to get down to the ground. Vince and Harriet run to my side.

‘I need you to take over!’ I scream. ‘I need to find the others!’

‘My pleasure.’ He shouts with a grin chucking me his gun. I hop off the side of the truck and scan around to find the others. I can see Newt, Thomas, Jak and Fry hiding behind some crates. I rush towards them.

‘Where’s Minho!’ I scream. Jak just points to where Minho is stood with a gun holding them off. I grin. ‘Minho, come on!’ I shout. Hearing me he whips around before running towards us. Soldiers billow in behind him shooting left and right. As a shot nearly hits me, I duck down behind the crates.

‘Minho, no!’ Thomas yells from beside me. Pulling myself back up, I see Minho leaning on some creates, electricity coursing through him. He looks up at us with a grimace.

‘Minho!’ I shout, leaving my place behind the crates and running towards him. Strong hands grip my waist pulling me back.

‘No, Kira.’ Newt’s voice causes me to stop fighting and just stare as the soldiers come and take Minho away into the helicopter.

‘No! Thomas, no!’ Jorge grips onto Thomas before he can intervene, pushing him back into Fry and Jak’s awaiting arms.

‘Minho!’ Thomas’ cries echo as we are pulled away from the soldiers and up the hill. I grip Newt so tight, I fear he might faint. A low rumbling catches my attention causing me to turn back and stare at the helicopters. The soldiers are falling back, causing the Right Arm members to cheer and whoop. Staring at the main helicopter I watch as Minho is taken aboard and Teresa, Ava and Janson are pushed to the front. They stare out in hard defiance and anguish in Teresa’s case. The base of the ship closes and it takes off, Minho in tow.

I look around me at the survivors. That can’t just be it. It can’t. I look to Newt who is doing the same. I lean against the wall and sink down til I’m sat on the floor. The camp is worryingly quiet now, all of us seemingly realising what just happened. Newt comes and plonks himself down next to me. Nothing needs to be said. I rest my head on his shoulder as the others all sit as well. We sit in silence until the sun comes up. Lifting my head I smile at the soft snores surrounding me. Gently propping Newt properly on the wall I walk down into the main camp and kneel down next to Mary’s body. She is cold now and her face is pale. Turning her onto her back it sit beside her and stroke her hair back so I can see her face. Sand and dirt is smushed along one side where it was resting against the floor. I wipe gently at her face with my hand, ignoring the stinging in my eyes. I’m not sure how long I sat there for, staring at her face and stroking her hair but I was brought back to reality when Vince’s voice interrupted the silence.

‘You were all she ever talked about, you know?’ Vince came and sat next to me. ‘Thomas kept her well informed about you when he worked there. She was so proud.’ Wet droplets leak out onto my cheeks.

‘I wish I’d got the chance to know her. I’d only just found her again.’ My voice cracks and Vince loops his arm around my shoulders. Reaching into her pocket, Vince pulls out a picture. He looks at it, smiles and gives it to me.

‘She would want you to have this.’ He says. I look down at the picture. It’s of Mary and my parents. They have their arms looped round each other’s and are smiling widely at the camera. I grin at my father. A wild shock of dark hair is atop his head with a small but noticeable receding hairline. His dark eyes shine with a kind of mischief that reminds me of Minho. My mother had long hair tied back in a ponytail. I finger my own as I continue looking at the picture. Her eyes are lighter than my dad’s but still a deep brown. I smile at their happy expressions and how they hold each other close. I move over to Mary. She looks a lot younger in this picture, happier too. Her dark hair missing the silver streaks she had now. The similarity between her and my mum was striking. They had the same kind eyes and face and the same smile slightly upturned at the edges giving them the look of being constantly amused. I look up at Vince before leaning into him and whispering, ‘Thank you.’ He nods stiffly, obviously unused to this kind of affection. To be honest I’m not that used to it but in that moment…

‘Should we bury her?’ I ask.

‘We will,’ He nods, ‘but we need to see how many we have first.’ I nod as well and take the sheet that Vince had brought with him. I lay it over her body gently but not before closing her eyes. I look up and notice that the others are up now, walking round the camp trying to tidy things up a bit. Bodies litter the camp, all covered in sheets. I look up and see Thomas sat on a crate deep in thought. I walk over to him and sit next to him.

‘You’re going after them aren’t you?’ I ask simply, already knowing the answer. He nods gently.

‘I made a promise to Minho that I wouldn’t leave him behind.’ I nod.

‘He’s one of my Gladers and he’s my best friend.’ He smiles gently at me, knowing what I’m really saying. If he’s going, he’s not going alone.

‘What do we do now?’ Fry says quietly.

‘Well, we pick up what's left of us. We stick to the plan. We get you kids to the safe haven.’ Vince takes a breath and looks around at the mess surrounding us. ‘Then we start over, I guess.’ Brenda and Jorge come to join us. I look at Thomas and nod.

‘We’re not going with you.’ He says standing and putting on his pack.

‘What?’ Vince says as the others stare at us like we’re mad.

‘I made a promise to Minho. I wouldn't leave him behind. I have to go after him.’ Thomas states, looking at me. I smile and stand also.

‘He’s family.’ Is all I say.

‘Hey, kid, look around you. All right? WICKED just kicked our ass. You think about where you're headed.’ Vince gestures to the destroyed camp.

‘I'm not asking anyone to come with me.’ Thomas shrugs. ‘She volunteered.’ I smirk slightly.

‘Thomas, listen to me.’ I notice Newt doesn’t include me in this. He obviously knows better. ‘I've known Minho for... Well, as long as I can remember. So, if there was any way that we could help him... trust me, I would be up there standing next to you. This, what you're talking about... is impossible.’

‘More like suicide.’ Jorge interjects. ‘Hermana…’ I smile gently and look at him.

‘Maybe. But I know what I'm supposed to do now.’ Thomas pulls a rifle onto his shoulder. I pull some guns of the floor and check them over. ‘It's not just about Minho. It's about all of us. It's about everyone WICKED's ever taken, everyone they will take. They'll never stop. They'll never stop, so I'm gonna stop them.’ I look over to Newt who has a small smile working its way onto his face. Oh, he is so in! ‘I'm gonna kill Ava Paige.’ I cock my guns in agreement.

‘I have to admit... I'd like some revenge.’ Harriet says standing. I grin at her, and she grins back before looking at Vince. He still doesn’t look convinced. Walking over to him, I take his hand.

‘What they’ve got, isn’t a cure. They will always need more people. More people will be taken, more people will be killed trying to protect them. Just like Mary.’ I can see this is working. ‘If you don’t do it for us, do it for her. Help us take down WICKED and I’ll let you have Janson.’ He looks up at me, determination shining in his eyes. He flicks his eyes to Thomas.

‘Well, that's a good speech, kid. So, what's your plan?’ I grin, and turn to Thomas. He nods looking around at us.

WICKED, you better be ready for us.


	27. The Death Cure

The Death Cure

The months following the attack on the Right Arm base were manic. I spent the majority of the time convincing Thomas that the best way to rescue Minho was to come up with a plan rather than just rush in. Vince had somehow managed to convince the remaining members of the Right Arm to help us so we had the manpower, we just needed a base of operations, resources and reliable intel. Those were easier said than done.

Our base happened surprisingly quickly; we decided that the best place to go was the shore - easily defendable and it wasn’t a bad view either. Helps the moral according to Newt, I think he just wanted to be by the sea. I have caught him just stood in the sand staring at the ocean. He told me once that he was imagining where we would end up. Imagining what a real safe haven would look like. A place where we didn’t have to worry about WICKED’s next move or where the next danger was coming from; where we could focus on us, on growing up and starting to move on with our lives. I liked when he spoke about the future, it seemed so far away, but when he talked about it, it felt like a possibility. And that’s all we needed to spur us on; the possibility of a new life. A life without WICKED. Felt like a dream. Of course moral wasn’t the only reason we chose the sea; the massive docked ship helped too. Vince was convinced that with the right materials and time he could get it working and we could escape to somewhere safe. A place that hadn’t been scorched. It had to exist, it just had too. The whole world couldn’t be destroyed. I’d had dreams of being surrounded by green again; trees and grass as far as the eye could see. Paradise.

Vince’s people were good, don’t get me wrong, but they needed to be better if we were gonna have any chance at taking down WICKED. So, we trained. I was amazed at how quickly they all picked up the basics. Every day we trained harder and harder and harder. Newt said I was being too harsh, but I disagreed. We’d already lost so many people already; I wasn’t prepared to send these people into this fight without at least some basic training behind them! He let off after that. We all finished our days, bruised and sore, but we were improving and that’s what mattered. We were never going to be an elite hit squad, but we were getting pretty slick. It was after about 2 or 3 months of training that I decided it was time to start planning our rescue.

It took us a while to figure out how to get the resources we needed. It started with taking out small groups of WICKED forces; one or two cars at a time. Once we had firepower, we were able to start taking larger risks. Our breakthrough came when we found the radio frequency that the scouts were using to communicate with the hub. It meant we knew exactly where they would be and could ambush. This fixed the reliable intel problem as well. Who’s more reliable than the enemy themselves? They cottoned on quick that we had a way of knowing where they would be, but instead of changing their radio frequency they decided to fight fire with fire. Quite literally. More and more guards stated showing up on detail, which obviously was fine with us. Just meant that we were getting more guns, more ammo and disguises. Those came in particularly handy when we decided to storm a small WICKED compound – made off with more than we could carry before they even realised we had been there. All in all, we were feeling pretty confident after 5 months of prep, so decided to put our rescue plan into action. We started dropping intel on the radio that we were going to hit the base where they were keeping the kids (and Minho). We didn’t actually know the location, but they didn’t need to know that. It worked like a charm. 3 weeks into us dropping this intel we heard chatter about the kids being moved to a more safe, secure location. This was it! It was time to rescue our friends.

We had been training for this moment for months. The kids were being moved by train tomorrow. We had already scoped out the train line and had gone over our plan a thousand times. We had it down. If everything went right, we would have all the kidnapped kids by tomorrow night. That was the hope anyway.

I feel the cool night air wash over my skin, as I sit gazing out over the camp. Lights flicker throughout as people prepare for tomorrows events. The camp buzzes; excitement, nerves, fear; the atmosphere feels electric. No-one will sleep tonight. A warm hand touches my shoulder. I sigh.

“You should come to bed,” Newt says gently. “Tomorrow is going to take it out of all of us.” I don’t move. Newt sighs and comes to sit next me. I look at him. 

“There is so much that could go wrong.” I whisper, chewing my bottom lip. “This could be a trap; they could know we are coming and lose everything. This is the biggest thing we have ever done, and it could backfire.”

“Or…” Newt interrupts, “Everything could go as planned. We take the carriage quick and fast and tomorrow evening we will be reunited with Minho, Aris and the rest of the kids. We’ve planned for this. We’ve trained. We can do this.” He rests his head on my shoulder and takes a small breath in. I rest my head on his. He’s right. We’ve planned for every outcome. We have backup plan on backup plan. We can do this. I start to nod my head.

“You’re right.” He looks up at my statement. “We can do this.” He smiles and kisses me slowly. Even now, after 6 months of being together, my stomach goes haywire every time he’s near me. We part with a small sigh and I let him pull me up onto my feet. He wraps an arm round my waist, and we walk in silence back to our bed. That’s the one problem with this base, there’s no privacy. Everyone ends up sleeping on top of each other, we live, train and socialise all in the same place. Newt and I settle into our bed and I rest my head on his chest. I listen to his heartbeat beating gently, gradually lulling me to sleep.

The next morning came far too quickly in my opinion, the buzz of camp waking me up as soon as the sun rose. This was it. We were ready. I dressed quickly, woke Newt with a quick kiss and headed to the planning room. Jorge and Vince were already there making sure they knew what they were doing.

“You guys doing okay?” I ask, looking over the guns, and equipment we had gathered for todays rescue. They both nodded.

“We’re good,” Jorge smiles. “It’s a good plan.” I nod.

“If it works…” I can’t help but worry about today.

“It will work.” A voice from behind me makes me jump. Thomas, Newt, Fry and Jak are all stood in the doorway. I nod at Thomas.

“Yeah, it will.” I look round at our team which consists of Thomas, Fry, Newt, Jorge, Vince, Harriet, Brenda and some trusted men of Vince’s and take a breath. “Okay, today is the day. They’re moving the kids by train at 2pm today. Does everyone know where they’re gonna be?” 

Jorge nodded and spoke up first, “You, me and Brenda will be the initial distraction.” I nod. Thomas pipes up next.

“You’ll distract the drivers and guards for long enough so that Vince and I can get on the back of the train and make our way to the carriage holding the kids. We’ll blow up the connecter, to separate it from the rest of the train.”

“We’ll jump out from where we are waiting…” Newt gestures to a couple of Vince’s guys, “and use the blowtorches to cut the metal holding the container to the train.” Brenda smirks.

“Whilst that’s happening, we will be leading away the helicopter that will be called for backup, and take it, with help from Fry, Harriet and the others.”

“And we will bring the heli back to you, lower the hook, you guys hook up the container and we fly off home,” I finish with a nod. I look around at the team. “Okay, we’re ready.” I turn to leave when a voice calls me back; Jak.

“Remind me why I can’t come again?” He says unimpressed.

“I need you here, okay. I need you to be safe. Prepare for us to leave.” He rolls his eyes but nod’s, hugging me tightly before wandering off back to his friends. I forget that Jak is so young and deserves to be young, so I refuse to take him out on missions. Thomas couldn’t understand it, having been through The Maze and The Scorch with us, but I explained that Jak needs to be allowed to be a kid. Having grown up in the maze none of us were allowed that but he’s still young enough to have a childhood. We can have a childhood vicariously through him. I smile as I watch him laugh and play with a couple of kids his age before turning and leaving.

The rumbling of the car does nothing to help my nerves. Jorge is taking Newt and the other boys to their waiting point ready for the ambush. Newt sits opposite me, gripping my hands tightly. I look up at him and smile gently. The confidence pours off him in waves. He believes in this plan 100%, and his confidence gives me a wave of confidence too. It’s gonna work. It’s gonna work.

“Yeah it is,” Newt smirks. I look up at him.

“Did I say that out loud?” I laugh at his growing grin. He nods. The car rocks to a stop as we arrive at the rocks the boys are going to hide behind. Everyone jumps out of the car and gives each other hugs of luck. I hold Newt against me tightly.

“It’ll be okay Kira. I promise.” I nod against his chest.

“Of course it will. We’re going to get them back.” I agree. I look up at him. I swear he’s gotten taller in the last 6 months. He smiles down at me and placing his hands on the side of my head kisses me sweetly.

“I’ll see you soon okay.”

I let go of him and get back in the car. Turning to face him I cock my gun and say, “Not if I see you first!” He smirks and walks behind the rock. Jorge pulls away and we go soaring over the train track and up to a cliff with a perfect view of the train’s path.

“And now we wait,” I comment turning to Brenda. She nods gently as we peer at Jorge’s pocket watch. 1.45. 15 minutes.

“They're late.” Jorge says, 20 minutes later. Yes they we’re. We all glance back at the tracks, but before anyone can speak a loud train whistle fills our ears. I smirk at the pair, and ready my gun.

“Here we go!” We speed off down the cliff face, barrelling towards the train as fast as the car will go. Jorge jerks the car so we are now parallel with the train. My radio crackles into life.

“Kira, we're coming up behind. Keep 'em busy.” I peer behind us and see Thomas and Vince racing onto the tracks and slowly gaining in the back of the train.

“My pleasure,” I say into the radio. Poking my head up through the top of the car, I line up my sight with the driver of the train. It’s a little challenging, with Jorge jerking the car around so much but nothing I can’t handle. I take a deep breath and as I exhale I shoot.

**BANG**

One shot straight through the window, taking out one of the drivers. The other ducks down so I can’t see him, so I sit back down in the car. Brenda starts shooting at the window making sure the other driver stays down. I turn to see Thomas and Vince jumping onto the bac of the train and a huge helicopter incoming. Perfect. I tap Jorge on the shoulder.

“Bird incoming,” I shout over the noise of the train. He laughs loudly and continues to drive.

“Hey, guys, you got company!” Thomas’s voice crackles through the radio once more. I laugh.

“NO SHIT!” I reply, amused and slightly terrified ay the same time.

“Go, go, go!” Brenda smacks the dashboard, clearly willing the car to go faster. I notice the heli turn towards us and it’s guns opening up at the front. Shit.

“Watch out!” I shout, ducking down into the base of the car. A shot comes from the chopper and a huge explosion goes off next to us. 

“Holy shit!” Brenda screams as the explosion shakes the vehicle. Brenda grabs my radio. “Thomas, you're on your own. Don't die.” She shouts as Jorge jerks the vehicle left and races towards the cliffs and our rendezvous with the others.

“Good luck!” Thomas’s voice crackles over one more time before going quiet. I turned to make sure we were being followed and grinned when I realised our plan was working. I grip Brenda’s shoulder tightly as the car jumps up and down on the rough surface of the ground. She turns and grins right back at me. I smirk as I see our rendezvous up ahead. We drive into the dead end and swerve so we are facing the helicopter.

“Step out of the vehicle with your hands up.” The pilots voice comes loud and clear ringing across the desert. I put my gun over my body and step out of the vehicle. 5 or 6 men come running forward, guns raised. I flick my eyes down to the floor where our trap is ready.

“Stop right there. Don't move.” The guy out front shouts. We ignore this command and take a small step back. “I said freeze, asshole!” We stop walking backwards, and look up at the men. They keep coming forward and now 3 are stood over out trap.

“Whatever you say, hermano,” Jorge quips. I flick my eyes down again whilst Brenda gives the signal. Fry activates the trap and 3 of the WICKED soldiers fall straight down into a hole. Fry and two others come out from behind rocks, guns raised.

“Y'all don't wanna do that now,” Fry drawls form behind one of the guards. I give Fry a wink.

“Hey Fry,” Brenda smirks.

“Good to see you guys,” He grins. I look over to the chopper to see Harriet with a gun to the pilots head. I take a deep breath. This was all going to plan. We left the soldiers on land and set flight back to the tracks. I sat up front with Jorge, until we could see the tracks and then ran back to help the others with the hook. Brenda pushes a button on the wall causing the floor to open and the hook to decend.

“Lower!” I can hear Tommy yelling form the top of the carriage, but there’s nothing we can do to make it go any faster. I look through the hole and watch Tommy grab the hook as soon as he can reach it. I let out a large breath that I didn’t realise I was holding when Newt comes into view and helps him attach the container to the hook. Once it’s attached Thomas shouts, “All right, we're clear!”

“Jorge, now!” I shout and receive a nod in return. I can hear gunfire as we start to ascend into the sky, container and the rest of our team attached. The gunfire soon fades away and all I can hear is the cheers of our family from below.

“We're going home, baby!” Jorge cries at the top of his lungs.


	28. Off we go again!

Chapter 2

The ride back to base is a joyous one. None of us can wait to see Minho, Aris and Sonya again. Harriet is literally jumping from foot to foot. Jorge sets us down gently and we all rush out into the sunlight. When we get to the container, Newt is already cutting his way into it. We get to them just as the door breaks open. Thomas goes in first closely followed by Newt and myself.

“Oh my God!” I gasp, the container is full of kids. Looks to be about 40, maybe 50. I scan through their faces, see if there is anyone we know.

“Aris. Hey, you guys okay?” Thomas’s voice brings my eyes to the pair in front of him. Aris looks rough, a bruise round his eye and a bust-up lip. He looks shaken, almost broken. Sonya sits nect to him, arms round his shoulders. I rush forward to hug them. 

“Yeah, we're fine.” Sonya says quietly, but I don’t believe them. I hug Aris tightly and I feel his arms move and circle me.

“Kira,” He whispers. I smile.

“You really think we’d forgotten you? We were always coming for you. Always.” I whisper back hugging him tighter. I give Sonya, a quick hug before moving on to find Minho. The fact that I hadn’t heard any sounds of jubilation yet worried me. I looked Thomas in the eye.

“He's not here.” No, he must be here. We’d come all this way. He had to be here. I flicked my eyes round the container again, but Thomas was right, he wasn’t here. I nod quietly and leave the container. I walk away until I can’t hear the group anymore before curling my hand into a fist and punching the closest wall to me. My fist bursts into pain and I collapse against the wall. I close my eyes and wrap my arms round my head. I can’t believe it. How could he not be there? Were there two containers full of kids? Did they decide not to move him? I open and eye and peer down at my rather painful fist. The skin has peeled away from my fists and they are dripping blood. That was stupid. That was really stupid. I traipse back towards the compound trying not to catch anyone’s eye and duck into the rooms. I grab my pack and take out some bandages. Heading towards the bathroom, I hear Newt coming towards the rooms.

“Have you seen Kira?” I don’t hear the reply, but I speed up my trajectory towards the bathroom. Once I’m in I run my knuckles under the water making sure it’s all clean, before wrapping it in a bandage. It’s unlikely that no one will notice, but at least it’s clean now. I peek out of the bathroom and seeing that the coast is clear head towards the garage to find Brenda. Ever since the Right Arm Camp, I have been keeping an eye on her Crank Bite which miraculously seems to have gotten better. I don’t know much about The Flare and how it works but according to Vince and Jorge it doesn’t just ‘get better’. So, what is it about Brenda that made her just get better? That’s the question that been troubling me for the last 6 months. I arrive at the garage and see Jorge under a car and Brenda propped up on another car reading a book.

“Hey,” I say as I walk in. Brenda rolls her eyes good naturedly as I enter.

“I though the fact that we just rescued 50 kids would give me they day off!” Brenda laughed. I shook my head.

“No such luck, I’m afraid. Come on.” Brenda follows me through to out makeshift lab. After Mary died, I combed through all her notes and brushed up on all her research to try and see what she was looking into. From what I can tell, The Flare doesn’t normally affect people differently. It normally turns its victims into a Crank in about 2 to 4 months but if you’re bitten that decreases that time exponentially, making 2 to 4 months turn into about 2 to 4 days, just like Winston. I know that the cure made from us, does work but not forever. All of Mary’s notes suggest that Brenda would have needed another dose, every month but that doesn’t seem to have happened; and I can’t for the life of me work out why? I’ve taken blood samples, saliva, all sorts, but I really have no idea what I’m doing. If only Mary was still here; all this would be so much easier. Brenda jumps up onto the table and unzips her trousers from the bottom, showing her ankle. I run my fingers along her scar and marvel at the smoothness of it. “I just don’t understand it, Brenda. I’m thrilled that you’re okay and everything, but it doesn’t make any sense!” Brenda just shrugs.

“We’ve done the same thing, everyday for 6 months Kira. Why do you expect it to change now?” She sighs. I roll my eyes.

“I don’t know, but we need to find out why this has happened to you. How this happened to you! What if one of our friend’s gets it. We thought we were immune but apparently were not. Not all of us.” I close my eyes and think back to Winston, picturing his eyes, his face before the Flare got to him. “We could’ve been protected from The Flare in the mazes, but then we escaped and now were open, and in it and that’s a dangerous place to be.” I run my hands gently along my bandaged knuckles in thought. We had to get Minho. We couldn’t leave him there. I sigh before looking up at Brenda. Her eyes are narrowed and focused on my hand. I make eye contact and smile reassuringly. “It’s okay. I’m just worried.”

“What happened?” Brenda asks. I sigh. I’ve found over the last few months that Brenda understands my brain perhaps more than the anyone else. She thinks like me and so finds it easier to understand my decisions.

“A wall.” She nods in understanding, emitting a small, “Ah.” She smirks.

“Newt’s gonna be pissed,” She barks out a laugh. I roll my eyes.

“He’ll get over it. I better go and talk Aris and Sonya. See if they have an idea where Minho could be.” Brenda nods.

“I think they’re in the med tent,” she adds. I smile at her and leave, heading towards the med tent, and hopefully answers. I walk into the med tent with Brenda, to find Aris, Soyna, Harriet, Thomas and Newt all sat talking. Newt eyes my bandaged hand but says nothing. I slip him a small smile before walking towards Aris. 

“Hey buddy, how you doing?” I say to him as I take a seat on his right. He breathes out a small huff of laughter before replying.

“Better now.” I wrap an arm round his shoulder when Thomas comes back with a drink for the new arrivals. He hands one to Sonya and to Aris.

“Here, drink this,” Thomas says gently.

“Took you guys long enough to rescue us,” Aris jokes.

“It's good to see you, too, bud. So what happened?” Thomas nods to Aris’ beat up face.

“I fought back. Tried to, anyway,” he replies, looking down at the ground.

“I’m sure you did great,” I say as I rub his arm gently.

“You're lucky you found us at all. They had us on the move a lot. It felt like something big was happening,” Sonya states.

“Any idea where they were heading?” Thomas questions. Newt sits forward coming to lean his arms on his knees, listening closely.

“All I know is they kept talking about a city,” Aris whispers. I frown. A city?

“I didn't think there were any cities left,” Harriet echoes my thought exactly.

“That's because there aren't. Not still standing, anyway,” Brenda shrugs.

“Okay, wait. What about Minho? Why wasn't he on the train?” Thomas asks again. Aris looks to Sonya, who looks at her feet.

“No,” I whisper, finally understanding what they are about to say. Thomas and Newt look at me before looking back at Aris.

“I'm sorry, Thomas. He was.”

I close my eyes and rub my hands over my face. He was right there. “He did it on purpose,” I finally say, breaking the heart-breaking silence, “Janson. He knew that we were coming for you guys and for Minho. He split you up so that whatever happened we would lose. This is how he plays the game.” I look at Thomas, fury blazing in my eyes. “But he’s not gonna win.” I stand and head to the planning room. We are going to get him back no matter what it takes.

Thomas and I pour over the maps, comparing radio chatter, rumours and the rail tracks to come up with a most likely city. After about an hour, we have it. Thomas calls in Vince and starts trying to persuade him to help us. I sit back, already having an idea about how this is going to play out.

“There, that's it. It's a few hundred miles. Based on the railways, everything that Aris told us, that's gotta be where they're headed. That's where they're taking Minho. We take everyone who can fight. Follow the roads where we can. We can make it back within a week,” Tommy speaks quickly, having already made up his mind about the next plan of action. I eye Vince, knowing that he’s not convinced.

“A week?” Vince huffs out a bitter laugh, “It took us six months to get here. We got over 100 kids here now. We can't just hang out here forever after what we just pulled. You wanna wander off to some random point on the map. You don't even know what's there.”

“I do,” Jorge comes around the corner of the doorway into the room, clearly having been listening. “It's been a few years, but I've been there. The Last City. That's what WICKED called it. It was their whole base of operations. If that city is still standing, that's the last place you wanna go, hermano. That's the lion's den.” I sigh, eyeing Brenda, who looks at me, giving me a, ‘Since when has that ever stopped you’ look. I smirk and give her a, ‘you make and excellent point’ look back. 

“It's nothing we haven't done before,” Thomas states.

“Yeah, with months of planning, and reliable information, the element of surprise, none of which we have now,” Vince starts to raise his voice. I hop of the table I was sat on and head towards the group.

“That’s not strictly true, Vince,” I say, looking at him in the eye. “Before we met you, all of our plans were half cocked and though up in about 5 minutes. We’ve got this far.”

Vince huffs. “Yeah, but how many of you?” He bites back. I say nothing, knowing that he has a point.

“Vince, I've thought this through. Would you just hear me out?” Thomas’s voice starts to get sharp and angry.

“The last time we went off half-cocked... I lost everything. You remember that? Look, I know it's Minho. All right? But you can't ask me to put those kids on the line for one man. I won't do it.” Vince shouts, and air of finality shutting us all up.

“Then don’t,” I say quietly. I am about to elaborate but the radio crackles into life, alerting us to nearby WICKED scouts. They are getting closer and closer to out camp everyday, which is why Vince is so ready to leave.

“Shit. Hit the lights.,” I shout, before running outside to see how far away they are. The lights power down around me, as people run for cover. Two helicopters are visible in the distance flying over the wreck of a city we hide behind.

“Jeez, they're getting close,” Vince says from behind me, having followed me out of the building. Thomas is behind him. 

“You're right. We can't stay here.” Thomas relents. Vince outs a hand on his shoulder before heading back inside. I follow but catch Newt’s eye on the way in. I beckon him over.

“You know what he’s going to do right?” New says, nodding towards Thomas. Of course I do. The idiot.

“Yeah, he’s gonna try and go after Minho by himself.” I raise an eyebrow. “That’s not gonna happen.” Newt smirks.

“Glad we’re in agreement. I’ll fill Fry in.” I nod gently before turning to leave. A hand on mine pulls me back to face Newt again. He pulls me into the med tent before sitting me down on a seat. He kneels in front of me and gently starts unravelling the bandage on my hand. He says nothing, but the tension in the air is palpable. My heart hammers loudly in my chest, making me feel like I’m about to burst. Finally, he gets to the last layer and removes the bandage to see the bruised, broken skin underneath. Again, he says nothing, but gets up and walks off before coming back with the things to clean it properly with and kneeling again. He fingers are delicate on my hand, and I’m so enraptured by his face, and his focus that I don’t even feel the pain of it being cleaned. I focus on calming my heart, almost certain that Newt can hear it from his close proximity. Newt finishes cleaning my hand, but before wrapping it back up, he lifts it gently to his lips and kisses each knuckle individually. I swear my heart stops in my chest. Am I dead? I feel like I’m dead. Maybe my heart exploded from the tension and now I’m dead. Just great. Classic. The feel of fabric now being wrapped around my hand brings me crashing back down to earth, and I watch Newt gently wrap it. When he’s finished, I look up at him, waiting to see what he will say. He pulls me up form my seat, kisses me sweetly on my temple and mutters, “I’ll fill Fry in on the plan,” before walking out of the tent. I stand and try and process what just happened for a second before heading to find Brenda. How the fuck can he have such an effect on me? He didn’t even have to say anything, and I was practically mush in his lap. This is dangerous territory that I’m still not used too. I must be showing my confusion and shock on my face when I walk into the garage because Brenda just smirks and arch an eyebrow at me. I see her mouth moving but my ears are distracted by the seriously loud pounding in my chest.

I look at her and say, “Huh?” She grins even wider.

“I said, are you okay, but clearly I have my answer.” I stare at her confused. “Just saw Newt drag you into the med tent and 20 minutes later walk out looking rather pleased with himself.” I shake my head quickly.

“No, no, no ,no, no. Umm, he just re-wrapped my hand.” Brenda doesn’t look convinced.

“So how has him rewrapping your hand got you so…” She gestured to my frazzled state. I shrug before dropping into a chair.

“I have no idea. He didn’t even say anything. He just unwrapped it, cleaned it, and re-wrapped it, but the whole time I felt like my chest was going to explode. He has this effect on me, that I just can’t explain. He just needs to look at me a certain way, and I’m speechless. And he knows it too. He’s gotten so cocky. I miss the old Newt who stuttered when he was around me and was too shy to say boo to a goose.”

Brenda laughs, “Really?” I think about it for a moment.

“No,” I shake my head. “This new confident, flirty Newt is pretty okay in my book. I just need to get him back.” Brenda smirks.

“Now this is a plan that I can get involved in.” I laugh, before remembering why I came. I fill her in on Newt and I’s plan before suggesting she waits 20 minutes and then follows with Jorge. We may need backup with an element of surprise. She agrees to the plan before rushing off to tell Jorge and I start to pack up the truck. An hour later, Fry and Newt arrive at the garage. Newt gives me a small smirk, which I roll my eyes too. Cocky Dickhead. We flick the lights off and wait for Thomas. Gotta love the dramatics. Quiet footsteps alert us to his presence, and I flick my eyes to Fry. We decided to sit in the car already whilst Newt waits to confront Thomas. I peek out the window and see |Thomas coming up the stairs and hear Newt flick on the light.

“Where do you think you're going then?” Newt’s voice carries into the truck, where me and Fry cant keep the grins off our faces.

“Newt...” Thomas trails off, clearly not knowing what to say.

“Don't be a twat about it. I'm already in. Come on.” Newt clearly isn’t taking any of Thomas’s hero complex bullshit today.

“No. No, not this time. Look, even if we find Minho, there's no guarantee we make it back from this.” Thomas pleads.

“Well, you'll need all the help you can get then, won't you?” I can hear the smirk in Newt’s voice as he flings open the car door and Fry and I lean forward so Tomas can see us. I give him a little wave.

“Did you really think we would let you do this alone?” I say to Thomas, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. 

“Well, we started this together. May as well end it that way, too,” Newt shrugs. Thomas sighs lightly.

“Or we’ll just go without you?” I call. Thomas smirks this time.

“Okay. Let's go get him back.” I grin before giving Newt a quick wink. He smiles before following Thomas into the backseat of the truck. As we pull out of the base, I flick my eyes up to the rear-view mirror and see Jorge and Brenda heading into the garage. Fry notices too but I shake my head minutely, to which he nods and focuses on the road ahead.


	29. The City

Chapter 3

The sun rises whilst we’re on the road. I took over driving a while back. Thomas and Newt were both passed out in the back and I could tell Fry was getting tired, so I offered to take over. It took a bit of persuading but after a while Fry let up and let me drive. We had been following Tom’s map towards the city, but it didn’t feel like we were getting any closer. The van was silent, apart from the soft snores coming from the 3 boys surrounding me and the rumbling of the engine. I knew that we were heading into a world of trouble, but I couldn’t help but feel at peace. Out on the road, freedom, my family surrounding me. It was a twisted sort of peace, but peace all the same.

A couple of hours after I took over driving, we come across a tunnel. I stop the car and wake the boys. Whilst they are rubbing the sleep from their eyes, I get out of the van and stretch my legs. Leaning against the bonnet I eye the tunnel. I don’t like it. Big, creepy, dark tunnel, when we are running from creatures that like to hide in big, creepy, dark spaces. Uh uh, not my idea of a good time.

“You want us to go in there?” Newt comes to stand beside me, pointing at the tunnel. Thomas comes to stand on my other side, studying the map. Fry has itched forward a bit to get a better look. “I don't wanna come across as too negative, but if I was a Crank, that's exactly where I would be.” I take his hand and give it a squeeze. The tension that had gathered in his hitched shoulders, eases a little at my touch, but not by much. He is still looking at Thomas. I keep my eye on the tunnel not willing to take my eyes off it for more than a second.

“I don't think we have much of a choice,” Thomas mutters, looking at us apologetically. I take a big sigh.

“All right. I get shotgun.” Newt announces before heading round to the other side of the car. “Fry, you’re in the back.” Fry gives a big nod and heads to the back of the car. I stay and keep my eyes on the tunnel. Thomas stands next to me.

“If this goes wrong…” Thomas whispers to me, before trailing off. I turn to look at him and take his hand.

“We’ll deal with it. Whatever is in there, if it’s our fastest way to Minho, then that’s what we must do. Okay?” I give his hand a squeeze and jump back into the driving seat. Newt gives me a tight smile to which I respond in kind before starting up the engine again. We slowly head into the tunnel, keeping our eyes peeled. I flick the main car lights on whilst the boys hang torches out the window so we can see what’s in front of us.

“Well, here we go,” Newt keeps his voice low and quiet.

“Yeah, just take it nice and slow,” Thomas echoes his tone from the back. We drive slowly through the tunnel, making our way around the other stationary cars.

“They must have been abandoned. I wonder what happened?” I wonder. It was sad, looking round at the carcasses of engines that were once used by people trying to escape. I sigh gently before Newt shouts,

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I slam my foot on the break bringing us to an immediate stop. In front of us a crank has walked out from behind an old bus. My breathing quickens.

“It's okay,” Thomas puts a hand on my shoulder. “It's just one, so take it slow, go around him.” I roll my eyes in frustration.

“Why did you have to say that! It’s definitely not gonna just be one now,” I hiss at him. He looks at me apologetically.

“We'll be fine. Take it slow. Take it slow,” Newt murmurs beside me. I gently inch the car forward, not wanting to make too much noise. A loud bang and a gasp from Fry and Thomas make me jam on the brakes again and turn around.

“Please. Please. Help me. Please.” A lady bangs on the window of the car, wild eyes flashing panic. “Please! Let me in.” I blow out a stuttered breath trying to calm my frantic heartbeat, before turning back around and getting ready to drive.

“Okay. Kira, we gotta go,” Fry calls from the back as another crank starts banging on his side. I look ahead and see 15 or 20 cranks coming out of their hiding spots, surrounding us.

“Please! Open the door!” The lady is screaming now.

“You need to go right now!” Thomas shouts. I try to calm my nerves as I watch the crank in front of me run straight at us.

“Why won't you open it?” Her screams ring in my ears.

“Just floor it, Kira!” Thomas shouts again and this time I listen.

“Hold on!” I scream, as I press down the accelerator. The car jerks forward and we surge straight into the crank in front. He clings to the bonnet of the car screaming and trying the punch the windscreen.

“Floor it! Come on!” Fry screams.

“What do you think I’m doing!” I scream back at him. The crank starts to punch at the windscreen frantically, cracks starting to appear.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Newt shouts, frantically prepping his gun.

“Come on, Kira, shake him!” Fry shouts from the back.

“What the hell do you think I’m doing?” I scream, swerving the car back and forth, trying to shake the crank off.

“KIRA!” Newt cries.

“I'm trying!” The tunnel flies past us so quickly that I can barely see what’s ahead. I swerve to the edge of the tunnel and the crank flies off the bonnet but grips onto my window. He punches it causing glass to fly into my lap. A sharp sting on my face alerts me to the blood now dripping down my cheek onto my arm. I blink back the tears starting to form in my eyes before noticing something shiny sticking out into my path. A ladder! It’s sticking out of an old van up ahead. Perfect!

“Hang on!” I scream and I feel Newt grip my arm. I swerve almost into the van and pull away last second causing the ladder to hit the crank and knock him off the window. I let out a small laugh in relief and flick my eyes to Newt. He grins at me before a cry behind me brings my attention back to the road.

“Oh, God. Kira, watch out!” Thomas screams. Before I can do anything to correct us, the car’s left wheels fly up a ramp on the road causing the car to fly off at an angle, tipping us onto our side and crashing to the floor sideways. My head smacks the floor as the car scrapes to a stop. I blink the black spots away from my eyes before stretching my body to make sure nothing was badly injured. A small twinge in my side caused me to groan.

“Everyone okay?” Thomas called from the back.

I open my eyes, that I hadn’t even realised I’d closed, confused for a second as to why we were now upside down.

“Kira, cover your eyes,” Thomas calls from behind me. I do as he says and hear him kicking out the back window so he and Fry can get out. As soon as I hear him get out, I start banging on the door to try and get it open. It’s stuck. I look over to Newt.

“Are you okay?” I whisper. Newt nods at me whilst banging on his own door.

“Are you? You’re bleeding,” He says. I nod.

“The glass, from the window.” He nods again and angrily kicks at his door with his foot. This time the door goes flying, almost hitting Thomas.

“Newt, you all right?” I could hear Thomas and Newt talking as I wiggle my way towards the open door. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I think so,” I hear Newt say before his face pops down by the door and his outstretched arm reaches for me. I gratefully take it and let Newt help me out of the car. As soon as I’m out, Newt wraps me in a hug.

“You okay? Any injuries?” His eyes flick over me, coming to a stop at my face now covered in blood. I suppose a bleeding face and a tumbling car will leave you looking pretty rough. I grab his hands.

“I’m okay. It’s not as bad as it looks. I promise.” He nods gently and seems like he’s about to say something but the screeching of a crank tears our gaze away from each other and down the tunnel. A crank runs full pelt at us, screeching.

“Frypan, I think we gotta move,” Thomas shouts but Fry instead ducks back into the car clearly searching for something.

“Now Fry!!” I scream backing away as quickly as possible from the oncoming crank.

“Wait a minute!” Fry shouts from inside the car.

“Right now!”

“Fry, now! Come on, what are you doing?”

“We gotta move! Come on!” Newt, Thomas and I all shout at once. Our calls seem to fall on deaf ears as Fry continues rummaging.

“FRYPAN!” I shout. The crank is almost on top of us now, but before any of us can say anything else, Fry pulls himself out of the car, shotgun in hand and shoots the crank dead. I let out a shaky breath, whilst Thomas pats Fry on the shoulder.

“Nice shot, Fry.”

“Thanks,” He murmurs, not taking his eyes off the dead crank. Our relief is short lived when cranks start piling over the cars heading straight towards us. Fry tries to shoot them, but I grab his jacket and pull him off running with us. We continue running down the tunnel but come to a halt when in front of us, a heard of cranks comes towards us. We’re surrounded! Fry starts shooting again, Thomas directing him. Newt grabs my hand.

“We can’t outshoot them. There’s too many and we have one shotgun!” I shout at the boys, looking for a way out, just hoping that backup would arrive in time.

“Not anymore,” Fry cries, “I'm out!”

“Fuck!” I shout, pulling him back towards us. I look down the tunnel in the direction we come from. “Now would be a really good time for that backup!” I shout really hoping they won’t be too late.

“What the hell are you talking about!” Thomas shouts at me. Before I can answer a loud horn blares as Jorge and Brenda come charging through the cranks, in Jorge’s baby.

“Yes!” I shout as they come to a stop next to us. Brenda pops out the top, gun in hand and starts shooting.

“Hey, get in!” She shouts at us, and we don’t need telling twice. We jump in the back and Jorge speeds off.

“Go, Jorge, go!” Fry shouts as I settle into my seat. I grin at Jorge through the mirror.

“I'm impressed! You guys almost lasted a whole day,” Jorge quips, I smirk at his sass.

“You good?” Thomas asks Newt and I. I nod my head giving Newt’s hand a little squeeze.

“Yeah,” We both say. Brenda turns around in her seat and stares at Thomas. He sighs.

“I'm sorry. I didn't wanna bring you guys into this.” Brenda flicks her eyes to me and I raise an eyebrow.

“I think what he's trying to say is thanks for saving us,” Fry interrupts. She rolls her eyes.

“It’s not us you should thank.” The boys look at each other seriously confused. “If Kira hadn’t told us what was going on before you guys left, we wouldn’t have been here to save your asses.” Three pairs of eyes shot to me. I shrug.

“Look, we all knew what Thomas’s plan was. I figured we could use some surprise back up.” Silence. Thomas stared at me in shock. “You’re pretty easy to read.” I shrug again. A whoop of laugher from the back, causes us to turn and look at Fry.

“Classic Kira…” He trails off into small giggles. I roll my eyes and look back at the other boys. Thomas has a small grin and Newt looks…proud?

“What?” I ask him. He says nothing but puts an arm around my shoulder, pulls me in and kisses my head.

“Classic Kira.” He mutters, “Queen of the backup plan.” I smirk at his musing before resting my head on his shoulder. “Just in case, eh?” I chuckle quietly.

“Thank you, Kira,” Thomas speaks gently.

“You're welcome.”

“Hey, don't wanna burst your bubble but I wouldn’t get your hopes up. That checkpoint back there, that was the city's last defence. If that was overrun, chances are the city is, too.” Jorge states from the front.

I feel Newt shift next to me before speaking. “Yeah, unless they figured out some other way to keep the Cranks out.” I turn to follow his eyeline and see what he was talking about. A perfect city, skyscrapers and lights, surrounded by massive sloped walls.

“Oh my God!” I mutter, stating at it. The sun blinks of the city of metal and glass making it almost glow. Jorge has obviously seen what we’re talking about and brings the car to an emergency stop. We all pile out the car and stare at the city before us.

“Funny... Spent three years trapped behind walls, trying to break out, and now we wanna break back in.” Newt speaks in a completely deadpan voice, clearly not finding the situation funny at all.

“Yeah. It's hilarious,” Fry calls from the back of the car.

“Jorge, how do we get in?” Thomas asks. Jorge shrugs.

“Don't look at me, hermano. Those walls are new. I guess that's WICKED's answer for everything.”

Brenda sighs. “Well, we ain't gonna figure it out from up here. Let's go!” She, Jorge and Fry get back into the car, leaving Newt, Thomas and I continuing to stare. I think we’re all thinking the same thing.

“You really think he's in there?” Newt wonders aloud.

“I guess we'll find out.” Thomas answers, although I think we all already knew the answer. He was in there. I could feel it.

“You know she's gonna be there, too.” Newt finishes. I look over at Thomas who says nothing but the increasing tightness in his jaw showed that he was not okay with that. We all get back in the car, and Jorge steams off towards the city.

We park up just in the outskirts and head in, following the mass of people who seem to be heading towards the centre. It’s been a long time since I’ve been surrounded by this many people, and my chest starts to tighten at the realisation. The crowds push at us, almost managing to separate us. I grab Newt’s hand so as not to lose him. He grips my hand back and gives me a slightly worried look. I attempt to give him a reassuring smile, but it’s strained at best.

“This place has really gone through hell,” Jorge mutters to himself, looking at our derelict surroundings. People are sat on the floor, surrounded by all their belongings, clearly having nowhere else to go. “We just gotta stay together.” A loud noise startles me, making me turn. A large car, with armed people sat on it is moving its way through the crowds.

The guy on top has a megaphone and is shouting at the crowd. “We are the voice of the voiceless! They hide behind their walls, thinking they can keep the cure for themselves, while they watch the rest of us wither and rot! But there are more of us than there are of them. And I say, we rise up and take back what is ours! Let's bring back a victory!” Most are wearing masks and as the car moves past us, one of the masked men seems to notice us. He keeps his eyes on us as the car pulls away. That’s probably not good. We follow the crowds and come around a corner, finally seeing what all the fuss is about. The crowds are surrounding a checkpoint, in front of a massive gate into the walled city.

“Let us in!” The crowds scream. I look around at the sheer amount of people here. Are WICKED cutting themselves off from everyone. All these people clearing struggling and WICKED are all sitting pretty in there? My heart rate quickens in anger. Maybe those masked guys are right. Maybe a revolution is exactly what needs to happen. People are dying out here every day and WICKED doesn’t care at all. These are the people they claim to be trying to protect, and they are just letting them die! 

“That's it. That's our way in,” Thomas shouts at us, over the noise of the protesters. He starts pushing his way through the crowd trying to get towards the gate. We all rush after him, making sure to keep him in our sights. I shoot a look backwards and see the masked guy from the car still watching us. I decide to follow Thomas but keep that guy in my peripheral.

“Let us in! Let us in! Let us in! Let us in!” The crowd chants loudly. How long has this been going on for?

Jorge manages to reach Thomas, and grabs his arm turning him to face him. “Thomas! This is not what you're looking for. All these people trying to find their way in, you think you're gonna find something they can't?”

Thomas huffs and says, “Came this far. I'm not turning back now,” before rushing towards the gate again. I roll my eyes frustrated and we follow again. As we move through the crowd, a whirring above us catches my attention. Drones up ahead seem to be watching the crowd. I pull the hood to my jacket up over my face, but I fear it’s too late. If WICKED know were here, we are screwed.

“What the hell did we get ourselves into?” Fry murmurs to Newt, Brenda and I, looking round at the angry crowd. I don’t answer, because I don’t know either.

“Get out of my way! Get out of my way!” Jorge shouts as we reach the front. I hang back keeping my eye on the masked guys who seem to be surrounding us. “Thomas, this doesn't feel right.”

I watch as the masked men keep moving towards us, all watching us now. I look over at Newt who seems to have caught them as well. I give him a sharp nod as he runs towards the others.

“Hey, guys, we gotta go now. Look.” I see the group turn around and finally notice the approaching men. I stumble backwards towards them, when a loud groaning coming from the wall, silences the crowd. We all watch as machine guns come out form the tops of the wall and face the crowd. I grab the back of Newt’s coat.

“WE HAVE TO MOVE, NOW!!” I scream as the crowd around us starts to panic.

“Let's go, let's go!” I hear the masked guy standing behind me start to usher people away from the barricade. A flash of familiarity hits me like a train. I know that voice. I’d know that voice anywhere. But he can’t be here. He can’t be. He died. A million thoughts barrage through my head, but a loud bang and a hand pulling me away, brings me back to reality. The guns have started to shoot at the crowd.

“Thomas, let's go. We gotta get out of here!” Jorge shouts as we start to run. I have no idea where we are going, but we run as fast as we can. Huge explosions light up the street as people get flung around from the impacts. I keep hold of Newt’s hand and run. My eyes flick around and I realise I’m looking for the masked guy. If I’m right about his identity (and I really hope I am) then maybe they are on our side. We run down a side street and are narrowly missed by another shot. I turn to make sure that Thomas and Brenda are following and run straight into a hard chest. The person grabs my arms and pulls me into a van. Thomas and Brenda are pushed in after me, followed by 3 masked guys. The van’s door is slammed shut and pulls away at a very high speed. I eye Thomas and Brenda asking, “You guys okay?” They nod quickly.

“No talking,” The guy in the middle snaps. I hold back a smile. I am right. It’s definitely him. I narrow my eyes at him, before giving him a quick wink. I can’t see his reaction due to the mask, but the silence tells me all I need to know. I take a deep sigh and rest my head against the side of the van, closing my eyes.


	30. Gally

Chapter 4

We drive for about 20 minutes for turning into a large building, at least I think we do. It’s hard to tell. The back of the van opens, and we are forced out. I look around and gasp. Hundreds of people surround us, of all ages. I bring my attention back to the masked guy in front of us. Before I can say anything, the other van pulls in. It comes to a stop beside us and loud shouts can be heard from inside. I roll my eyes and bang loudly on the side.

“JORGE!” The shouts stop. “You wanna calm down for 5 seconds to come out and join us, Brenda’s out here.” The van door is slid open and Newt and Fry get out looking pretty shaken. Jorge comes out next, frantically looking around before his eyes settle on Brenda and he pulls her into a hug. I peer in the van and see a masked guy, pulling himself into a seated position groaning. “Sorry about that,” I wince at his state before a hand rests on my shoulder. I turn and am pulled into a tight hug. I breathe in Newt’s scent before pulling back.

“Are you okay?” He asks, eyes urgent and blazing. I smile at him softly.

“I’m good. We were never in any danger, right?” I turn and gaze at the masked guy. “We’re all on the same side.” Thomas glares at me. The others just look confused.

“What makes you think that?” The masked guy asks, almost teasingly. I smile before approaching him.

“Because I know who you are,” I say softly. I reach up to his mask and gently pull it off his face. Gally stares guiltily back at me as I drop the mask on the floor. I hear gasps from behind me, but I continue to look at him.

“Hello Gally,” I whisper.

Gally smiles softly as I step back, and he moves his gaze to the others, the smile transforming back into a guilty stare.

“Hey, Greenie,” He mutters. I pull my eyes away from him, to look at the others.

“Gally?” Thomas stutters.

“No way,” Fry whispers. I watch Thomas. I know him. I know what’s running through his head right now. Almost on cue, Thomas lunges towards Gally and punches him in the face. I surge forward and grab his hand, Newt grabbing the other.

“No, wait! Hold! Stop! It's all right!” Gally shouts to his people, who all raise their weapons. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop! Stop it! Stop.” Newt shouts, trying to get Thomas to calm down.

“He killed Chuck.” Thomas spits.

“Yeah, we know. We remember. We were there too, all right?” Newt continues to try. I huff angrily and pull Thomas off Gally. He sprawls out onto the floor, jumping up and surging forward again. I stand and push him back.

“Stop!” I shout. “We also remember that he was stung and half out of his mind. Neither of us know what that was like. We both passed out. Calm down!” Thomas breathes heavily but doesn’t move again. “Gally, you okay?” I ask, not taking my eyes of Thomas. 

“Kind of had that coming,” He says.

“Chuck…” Thomas trails off.

I walk up to him and put a hand on his face. “You know that’s not his fault. None of us know what the changing does to people, apart from that it makes them crazy. You didn’t know Ben, but he was the sweetest boy imaginable until he got stung and then he tried to kill you.” Thomas pushes out a shaky breath before nodding. I smile gently before turning back to Gally.

“Do you know this guy?” Jorge says from behind us.

“He was an old friend,” Fry stuttered, clearly struggling to take all this in.

“He IS an old friend,” I correct, not impressed with how the boys are reacting.

“How? How is this possible? We watched you die.” Fry continues.

“No, you left me to die. And if we hadn't found you when we did, you'd be dead right now,” Gally answers, but I shake my head.

“That’s not what happened.” Gally looks at me confused. “WICKED turned up and took us. We tried to get to you and Chuck but they pulled us away before we could.” I needed him to know that we didn’t leave him by choice. He sighs before nodding in acceptance.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Gally then asks us.

“Minho. WICKED has him here. We're looking for a way in.” Newt states, looking at Gally suspiciously.

“I can help with that. Follow me.” I go to follow but the others don’t move. I turn to state at them.

“I'm not going anywhere with you,” Thomas glares.

“Suit yourself. But I can get you through those walls.” Gally shrugs and continues walking. I look at them.

“You got another plan? Maybe go one on one with the guns?” I raise an eyebrow before rolling my eyes and following after Gally. Footsteps behind me told me they were following too. I quicken my pace to catch up with Gally.

“They’re just in shock,” I say resting my hand on his arm. He stops and looks at me.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t really expecting a warm welcome,” He laughs bitterly. “I know what I did, and I have to live with that.” I sigh before deciding enough’s enough. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and pull him into a hug. Gally’s hesitant but responds in kind.

“The fact that you’re here, is a miracle. One that I’m very grateful for,” I whisper into his ear. I pull away and grip his hands. “I mean that. We started this together…”

“So, lets finish it together.” He smiles. I grin and it turn to face the others who have finally caught up.

“We’re a family,” I spit at them. “No matter what! Okay?” I glare at the boys until they all nod and murmur apologies. “Okay then, lets go talk to your guy.”

We walk through the building, people everywhere.

“After the maze, I got picked up by a group headed to the city. They realized I was immune, patched me up, and they brought me here to Lawrence. This group's been at war with WICKED ever since they took control of the city. But WICKED can't hide behind those walls forever. Day's gonna come, and they're gonna pay for what they've done.” I smirk at Gally’s passion. I’ve missed him. He stops walking and turns to us. “Listen, uh, he doesn't get a lot of visitors. So, let me do the talking. All right? And try not to stare.” I look at the others.

“Stare?”

We come down some stairs and walk into what looks like a makeshift rose garden. Rose plants litter the room all blooming. It’s the first time I’ve seen flowers since the Glade. I walk over to one of the plants and take a deep breath in. Floral notes fill my nostrils and make me smile. I look over to the others and focus on the man pruning another bush.

“Gally, glad to see you made it back. Jasper told me what happened.” He said. I walk forward as Gally addresses the man.

“It was a slaughter. There's nothing we could do against those guns.” The man sighs. I look the man up and down, noticing the IV he has on a stand next to him. Blue glowing liquid sits at the bottom of the bag. The cure? But that doesn’t make any sense. I make sure to listen to what he has to say, my brain whirring with this new information.

“No, but they can only poke the hornet's nest so long before they get stung. Now, who are these people? Why are they here?” He looks up at us. His nose is almost gone, and blue veins cover the right side of his face. The skin has fallen away, making his cheek almost look like coral.

Thomas steps forward. I roll my eyes again. What happened to let Gally do the talking? “We need to get into WICKED. Gally said you can get us through the walls.” I stand just behind Thomas, trying to get a better view of the man’s IV.

“Gally should know better than to make promises that he can't keep. Besides, that wall is only half your problem. Getting inside WICKED is impossible.” The man growls.

“There might be a way now. But it doesn't work without Kira and Thomas,” Gally looks at us, and we stare back. What’s his plan?

“Is that so?” The man smirks, walking towards us. “Do you know what I am? I am a businessman. Which means that I don't take unnecessary risks. Why should I trust you?” I narrow my eyes at the man. 

“'Cause we can help you. You see, if you can get us through those walls... we can get you what you need.” I say.

“What is it that you think I need?”

“Time. Every last drop.” Thomas answers, looking at the IV.

“Is that what I need?” The man says quietly.

“WICKED has something we both want.” I finish, hoping he’s convinced.

“I'll tell you what. Three can go for now. The rest stay down here with me. Just a little insurance to make sure you find your way back. We have a deal?” I eye Thomas and give him a small nod. Thomas shakes the man’s hand in agreement. “Gally, show them the way.” We start to leave but the man calls me back.

“Kira. Gally has told me all about you.” I furrow my brows.

“All good things I hope.” I quip, raising an eyebrow at Gally.

“You were trained by WICKED. And now you work against them. Interesting… very interesting.”

“That’s true.” I nod.

“You are a product of WICKED. Give me a reason to trust you?” He murmurs. Is he testing me?

“If anything, they have given me all the more reason to hate them.” My temper starts to bubble at the insinuation. “They killed my parents, took me away from my home, kept me separate from the others until I went in the maze, made me a leader of my maze, made me care about the boys in there and then killed them. I’ve seen so many of my friends, my family die because of them. And now they have one of my best friends, so I am not going to stop until WICKED is destroyed, Minho is back with us and Ava Paige and Janson are both dead.” I narrow my eyes at the man. His mouth pulls into what I’m sure is a very uncomfortable smile, before he turns to Gally.

“Just as you described. Good.” I look over to Gally, who shrugs a little. “Off you go.” Gally takes my arm and pulls me away. Once we are a far enough distance away, I turn and stare at Gally.

“I’m sorry,” He moans, “When I first got here, the sting was still in my system and I told them everything. That’s the one reason that they decided to trust me, I think.” I sigh a little.

“It’s okay, now how do we get to the city?” Gally smirks and heads off. I follow dragging the others with us when we reach them. We reach a large room with a manhole cover in the middle. I look up at Gally. “Seriously?” I grimace. He shrugs.

“It’s a way in, isn’t it?” He replies. We pull the top off and Gally stats to head down.

“Gally, take care of these two,” Fry says. Gally furrows a brow.

“Two?” We stare at him in confusion.

“Yeah two, it’s not like Kira’s gonna need you.” I smirk. Gally lets out a small laugh.

“Yeah.” He heads down the ladder and Thomas follows. I look over to Newt to make sure he’s following and watch as he looks down in confusion at his hands. He stretches them before looking up at me.

“You okay?” I ask. He nods, before getting up and heading towards us. I nod, unconvinced but head down the ladder all the same. At the bottom of then ladder my foot splashes in something, that judging by the smell, I’d be better off not knowing.

“This is gross. Jesus.” Newt says from behind me as he steps off the ladder.

“Yeah, this is great,” Thomas drawls, unimpressed. Gally rolls his eyes and flicks a switch on the wall. Lightbulbs begin to light up along the tunnel so we can actually see where we are going.

“Stay with me. We got a ways to go.” Gally mutters before heading off.

I look at the others before heading off too. “Okie dokie, love a sewer.” I groan.

“At least it’s not a vent.” Thomas jokes next to me. A shiver runs down my spine.

“There is that.” I smirk as we catch up to Gally.

It feels like we walk for hours but realistically it was only probably one, before the floor starts sloping upwards. We finally reach a door and Gally pushes it open and we come out into a bustling street. There are people everywhere, some wearing masks covering their mouths, some not, but all looking very clean and put together. I keep my eyes down and follow Gally through the crowd. We eventually make it out of the crowd and come to a stop at the top of some stairs. Gally leans against the railings and looks at us. I try and take in what I’m seeing. My head struggles to comprehend all the building’s and the light and the trees and… is that a train? I feel my mouth fall open at the sight.

“This is a long way from the Glade.” Newt gapes at the sight.

A tannoy sounds. “Fifteen minutes to mandatory curfew. Please proceed home in an orderly fashion. Remember, this is for your safety. Thank you for your compliance.” I raise an eyebrow at Gally.

“Yeah, we better get off these streets. And I know it's hard, but act like you've seen it before.” He smirks at us, as we try and pull ourselves together as we follow him. As we walk, I notice how clean everywhere is. You wouldn’t know that the city is surrounded by desert. Gally pulls us into an alley. A car with a siren comes whizzing past us. He gives us a nod as it passes, and we run across the road to hide behind another building as another car comes past. “They've definitely upped security. I'm guessing you shanks have something to do with that.” He raises an eyebrow at us. I grin and give him a small shrug. “All right, let's get outta here.” He takes us through the winding streets and to the edge of the city. We reach the wall and Gally gives us the nod.

“Up there?” I say. He nods. “Okay.” The boys give me boost and I pull myself up onto the wall. Once were all up, Gally takes us along the wall, up some stairs, along another part… not going to lie, I was completely lost. It was clear how many times Gally had done this. We finally came up a final set of stairs and Gally stops.

“There it is. If WICKED's got Minho, that's where they'll be keeping him.” Gally points to a large fancy skyscraper in the centre of the city. “Lawrence has been trying to find a way in for years. Place is crawling with soldiers. They got surveillance everywhere. Scanners on every floor.” I sigh. That’s going to be tricky. Gally pulls out a stashed telescope and places it on a pole, looking through it for a moment before coming to lean on the rail with us.

“Sounds like a bloody fortress,” Newt groans, resting his elbows on the railing, and running his hands through his hair. 

“Yeah, I thought you said you had a way in,” Thomas asks.

“I might.” Gally looks stressed.

“You might? What the hell do you mean ‘might’?” Thomas snaps. Gally looks through the telescope once more before gesturing to Thomas.

“Take a look.” Thomas peers through the telescope for a second before pulling back and staring at Gally. “I said I had a way in. I didn't say you were gonna like it.” I look at Thomas confused. Thomas doesn’t answer just gestures to the scope. I look through it and can now see a WICKED lab. I move the scope slightly before seeing what’s got Thomas so worked up. Teresa. She looks so clean and focused, walking around the lab like that’s where she always belonged. I pull back, moving back so Newt can see.

“Oh,” I say. I give Newt a look when he’s finished. Neither of us know what to say.

“We should go,” Gally says, and we follow without saying anything.

The walk back to Lawrence is tense at best. We can see that Thomas is clearly trying to process everything that’s just happened. I keep Newt’s hand in mine, but I can feel it twitching in mine, I look down at it and when he notices me looking, he pulls it away and massages it gently.

“Is everything okay?” I whisper. He nods quickly.

“Yeah it’s fine.” It’s fine? Is that it?

“Did you hurt it or something?” I press.

“I said it’s fine!” He snaps. I stop walking and stare at him. He ignores me and continues walking. Okaayyy. Something’s going on with him. He’s clearly keeping something from me, and that doesn’t usually happen. It worries me. We reach Lawrence just before dawn and head to what looks like a planning room. The others are already there waiting. I give Fry and Brenda a hug before going to sit on box at the side. My feet hurt from all the walking. I wait for Gally to lay out his plan. I flick my eyes between Newt and Thomas, at this moment in time not knowing who I should be more concerned about.

“No. There's gotta be another way.” Thomas states, angrily shaking his head.

“Like what? You've seen the building. She is our only way in,” Gally, shrugs.

“You really think she's gonna help us?” Thomas asks. I watch as Thomas and Gally go back and forth but am worried as I bring my gaze over to Newt. He looks angry. Really angry. I’ve never seen him so angry. He bites his thumbnail and glares at the table, breathing hard.

“I don't plan on asking for her permission.” Gally responds.

“Am I missing something here? This is the same girl who betrayed us, correct? Same dick?” Brenda interrupts.

“I like her.” Gally smirks.

“What's going on?” Brenda continues. Thomas doesn’t respond.

“What, are you afraid your little girlfriend's gonna get hurt?” Newt’s angry voice rings through the room. I watch as he straightens up and walks towards Thomas. “Hmm? Because this has obviously never been just about rescuing Minho. Has it?” Newt is right up in Thomas’ face now. I jump off the box to intervene if needed.

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Thomas questions.

“Teresa. She's the only reason that Minho's even missing in the first place. Now we finally have an opportunity to get him back. And what? You don't want to because of her? Because deep down inside you still care about her, don't you? Just admit it.” Newt has pushed Thomas into the wall, his voice getting louder and louder as he continues.

“Newt, I...” Thomas starts but Newt interrupts.

“DON’T LIE TO ME! Don't lie to me!” Newt shouts in Thomas’s face. My breath catches in my throat. What is going on?

“Newt…” I whisper, breaking the tense silence of the room. He turns to me, his eyes flashing with the realisation of what just happened. Newt would never shout at anyone like that.

“Sorry.” Newt whispers to Thomas before turning around, looking a mixture of confused, upset and guilty. He looks at me, whispering again, “I'm sorry.”

“Newt…” I start, but he waves me off, clutching his arm and walking off. I look after him, not knowing what to say. Thomas takes a deep breath before following him. I rest my hands on the table, before realising I’m shaking. Brenda walks around the table and grasps my hand.

“What was that?” She whispers. I shake my head.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s good.” I squeeze her hands before following after Thomas. I come to the roof but hang back knowing that Thomas and Newt need to speak first. I lean against a pillar and listen to their conversation. I know I shouldn’t but I’m worried.

“Sorry about that. Back there. I guess I can't hide this anymore.” I hear Newt say. Hide what? I peek round the pillar, but Thomas is blocking my view.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Thomas whispers.

“Didn't think it would make any difference,” Newt responds. I furrow my brow.

“Have you told Kira?”

“No, she’d only worry, and we all need to be on the top of our game now. If anyone is going to be able to take WICKED down, it’s her.” Only worry about what? I want to go out there and ask, but I can’t make my feet move.

“You should tell her. She’ll kill you if she finds out you’ve hidden it from her.”

“What am I supposed to say Tommy? This thing we’ve all been running from, this thing that WICKED is trying to cure, is going to kill me? And then expect her to continue trying to stop them? I can’t do that.” My heart stops at his words. Kill him? The Flare? Is he infected? No. No. That can’t be true. He’s immune. We all are. He wasn’t scratched or bitten. I don’t understand. How did this happen? I sink to the floor and try and process what’s just happened.

“All I know is that WICKED must have put me in that maze for a reason. Maybe it was literally just so they could tell the difference between immunes like you and people like me.” I can hear Newt speaking but I don’t care anymore. All I want to do is be with him.

“You know we can still fix this, Newt. Okay? We can.” Thomas.

“Don't worry about me. This is about Minho. Now he needs us. So, if there is even the slightest chance that we can save him, we can get him out of there, then we have to take that. No matter what the cost.” Newt speaks again.

“Okay. I hear you.” Thomas finishes and then they both go silent. I wobble to my feet and come out from behind the pillar. I stand there for a moment before clearing my throat. The boy’s heads whirl round to glance at me. Thomas takes a deep breath and stands. He walks up to me, squeezing my hand as he passes. He heads off downstairs leaving us alone. I walk slowly to the edge of the roof and sit next to Newt dangling my legs down. I don’t say anything for a moment trying to think about what to say.

“How much did you hear?” Newt whispers. I keep staring at my feet, not being able to look at him.

“Enough.” Newt sighs next to me. “How long did you really think you’d be able to hide it from us? From me?” I turn to look at him, curling one leg up in front of me. He grips his arm. I sigh and reach for it. He doesn’t stop me taking is arm in my hands and pulling up his sleeve. Dark veins have started to make their way from his wrist to his elbow. I run my fingers along the veins shakily. It’s real. It’s really real. “Does it hurt?” He nods.

“Aches.” I sigh before bending down and kissing his wrist gently. I feel a shiver run through his body.

“You should have told me.” I whisper leaning my head on his shoulder. He nods and kisses my head.

“I know. I just… didn’t know how.” I look up at him. Bringing one of my hands to his face a run my thumb over his cheek. I curl my fingers round the back of his neck and pull him towards me gently. I kiss him softly, pouring everything that I’m feeling into it. His arm wraps round my waist and pulls me closer. I pull back after a while and look him in the eyes.

“We’ll figure it out, okay?” Newt scoffs about to interrupt but I don’t let him, “No, we have been through too much, and fought too hard to be here and together to give up now, okay?” I rest my forehead on his and he nods against me.

“Okay.”

“We’re not going to give up now.” I reaffirm. He sighs. “I’m not giving up on you now.” He runs his thumbs over my cheeks before kissing me sweetly.

“Started this together…” he whispers.

I choke out a rough laugh, “…finish this together.” I take a deep breath before pulling away and standing up. “You ready to do this?” I put out my hand for him to take. He nods before taking it and standing with me.

“Hell yeah.” He says, leading me downstairs to the rest of the group. As we walk in, we notice Gally and Thomas are absent. I raise an eyebrow at Brenda.

“They’ve gone.” She shrugs simply. I nod.

“Better get things ready for when they get back then, eh.” Everyone nods and we head off to get everything ready. I watch after Brenda as she walks away and flick my eyes to Newt. I smile, as a plan starts to form in my head. ‘Queen of backup plans’, Newt calls me. Now it’s time to live up to that name. I just need Teresa.


	31. The Rescue Mission

Chapter 5

We set up in an abandoned church. Gally and Thomas are back pretty quickly, Teresa in tow. The put her in a chair and Newt pulls the bag off her head. Teresa looks around at us all, before zeroing in on Gally.

“Gally?” It’s clear she’s confused. Not surprising considering she thought he was dead.

“Here's how this is gonna go. We're gonna ask you some questions, and you're gonna tell us exactly what we need to know. We'll start off simple. Where's Minho?” Gally pulls a chair in front of her and sits down.

“You guys don't seriously think...” Teresa looks over at Thomas and I but is interrupted by Gally.

“Don't look at them. Why are you looking at them? Look at me. They’re not gonna help you. Now, we know you have Minho in the building. Where?” Teresa sees that none of us are intervening and sighs.

“He's with the others in holding. Sublevel three.” She whispers.

“How many others?” Newt asks.

“28,” she responds quickly this time. I flick my eyes over to Brenda. She shrugs.

“I can make that work,” I smirk at her.

“No. No, you guys don't understand. The whole level's restricted. You can't get in without a thumbprint ID.” I roll my eyes.

“Yeah we know that bit. Why do you think you’re here?” I say to her. She looks at me, but I look away worried that I will give away my ulterior motive.

“That's why you're gonna come with us.” Thomas states.

“Well, I don't know. We don't necessarily need her. Right? Not all of her. We just need her finger.” Gally hold up a scalpel and walks over to Teresa. I flinch as he gets a bit close for my liking, but Thomas stop him. 

“Gally, back off,” He snaps.

“What, are you squeamish? I guarantee you she's done a lot worse to Minho.” Gally bites back.

“Gally! Calm down,” I grunt.

“That's not the plan. Back off,” Thomas takes then scalpel from his hand. 

“It won't make a difference. Do whatever you want to me. You still won't get through the front door. The sensors will pick you up the...” Teresa starts again, but again, we already know this bit.

“We know. We're tagged. Property of WICKED. You're gonna help us with that, too.” Thomas kneels down beside her, holding up the scalpel.

Teresa quickly removes our trackers, just having Thomas left. I stay close just in case. I don’t trust her near all the stabby instruments.

“Try to relax. This is gonna sting.” She says softly. It’s clear she still has feelings for him after all this time.

“Let's just get it over with.” Thomas grumbles. I drag over a seat and sit down.

“So, you work in the lab?” I question her. She looks to me and nods.

“Working on the cure, yes.” I narrow my eyes trying to slow my heartrate. I watch as Teresa dabs at Thomas’s neck with a tissue, blood soaking it in an instant.

“She's looking good. Healthy. How've you been getting her serum?” Teresa nods over to Brenda. I knew it! You need constant serum if you’re infected.

“What are you talking about?” Thomas asks.

“Brenda. I didn't think she'd still be alive. When was her last treatment?” I slowly let out a breath. My plan might work.

“At the Right Arm. The last time we saw you.” He mutters back. Teresa’s face drops. ‘And the penny drops,’ I think.

“But that was months ago. Thomas, that's not possible. She should have turned by now. There's no way she could possibly still...”

Thomas snaps, “All right, that's enough.” He gets up from his chair and turns to see his tracker on Teresa’s tweezers.

“You don't believe me?” Teresa gasps.

“Do you really expect me to? You made your choice.” Thomas snaps.

“Everything okay over here?” Gally walks over to the three of us.

“Everything’s fine. Take a walk Thomas, yeah?” I stare at him and Gally until they leave. I look over to Teresa. She gapes at me.

“I know.” I say, walking over to her station, picking up the bloody tissue. I grip her arm and walk her over to the far wall. “I was right, wasn’t I?” She stares intently at the tissue.

“She should have turned.” I nod again.

“I know, I’ve been monitoring her since the Right Arm and she’s just healing.” I whisper, quickly. Teresa furrows her brows.

“That’s not possible. How?” I lift the tissue.

“Thomas. Mary took his blood for the serum. That’s the only thing that’s different.”

“This is amazing.” Teresa gasps. “He could be the cure.”

I rest a hand on her shoulder. “Look, I need you to calm down. I need you to do something for me and I need you more than ever.” Teresa furrows her brow. “I need you to make some. Whatever happens in there, I need you to get away from us and make the cure. I’ll help as much as I can without giving anything away.” I shakily hand her the tissue.

“Why? What’s going on Kira?” I take a deep breath.

“Newt.” I look Teresa in the eye. “He’s infected. It’s not bad at the minute but he’s getting worse every day. I can’t do this without him. I can’t be this close to a cure and not help him. Please Teresa.” I feel my eyes stinging and filling with tears. I try and blink them away but one or two falls. I hurriedly brush them off my cheeks before anyone sees. Teresa doesn’t miss them though.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” She says finally, tucking the tissue in her pocket.

“Thank you, I’ll try and make a distraction and give you a signal to escape, okay?” I put an arm on the crease of her elbow and squeeze gently. “I’m sorry, for how I reacted at the Right Arm. I know you are just doing what you think is right and so are we. I hate that we are on different sides, but that’s just how it is.” She sighs.

“I hate it too.” I sigh again, before tying her back to the chair and heading to the others. I give her one last nod as I turn the corner.

We suit up quickly and quietly before starting to head down the tunnel. I can’t help but watch Newt who’s becoming worse and worse. Sweat is causing his brow to shine and his eyes look sallow and dark. I look over to Teresa who clearly has noticed too. She gives me a strong nod. If she wasn’t convinced before, she is now. We make it to the city easily separating off into out teams. Gally, Newt, Thomas, Teresa and I head for the WICKED building whilst Brenda and Fry sort our way out. Thomas and I walk 2 paces behind Teresa as not to draw suspicion and head into the building. We walk past all the guards and no-one even blinks at us. We are soon joined by Gally and Newt and make it into the stairwell.

“I can get in here,” Gally says, looking at an electrical box.

“Gimme a walkie,” Thomas demands. Gally throws him one and he heads down the stairs to lookout. I keep my gun trained at the door. Newt pushed up his mask and starts coughing. I spare a look at him, and he looks worse than I’ve ever seen him. Teresa looks at him, but he turns away, so she looks over at me. I meet her eyes, take a deep breath and look back at the door. I can hear Thomas talking to Fry and Brenda through the walkie, but my brain is whirring at a million miles an hour, so nothing goes in. I tap on the shoulder alerts me to the fact that were moving. We head down the stairs to sublevel 3 where they are keeping the kids and hopefully Minho. 

We reach the door, but as we arrive it open to reveal a guard. Thomas gets the first shot in as Gally, Newt and I work ourselves around the door and take out the rest. We take a door each, opening it and seeing a cell full of kids. I pull off my mask and smile at them.

“Come on, let's go.” I usher the kids out and look around for Minho. My eyes flick around the room and I don’t see him. I look at Newt and raise an eyebrow is question.

“Guys, this might take some time.” Gally says. He’s standing next to the vault which we’ve been told is full of serum.

“Shit. He's not here. Where is he?” Thomas corners Teresa. She looks scared.

“Teresa please,” I beg. She turns and logs into the computer behind her.

“Somebody's moved him up to the medical wing. Thomas, that's on the other side of the building.” I cock my gun.

“Okay, take us to him. Right now.” Thomas demands.

“All right. I'm coming with you.” Newt grabs his mask.

“Newt, no, you're not. You have to stay here, wait with Gally for the serum.” I stay silent, knowing that on this occasion, nothing is going to change his mind.

“You two can't do this on your own. Minho comes first, remember?” Newt says angrily. He looks over at me and I raise my hands.

“I’m not gonna stop you. I know when to pick my battles.” He gives me a weak smile, to which I respond in kind.

“Just go. We're wasting time. I'll get the serum. We'll meet you out back.” Gally snaps, clearly annoyed at all the standing around.

“Okay, fine. Let's go. Come on.” Thomas relents and we head out the door.

“Hey, Kira. Good luck.” Gally says.

“You too, Gally,” I smile at him. “Keep them safe.” He gives me a solid nod and I leave.

We head back through the building towards the medical wing. I notice that the guards seem to be on high alert which makes me nervous. We make our way into a spacious lift, with enough room for the three of us to stand in the back and Teresa to stand in front of us. Just as the lift door is about to close a hand stops it. It reopens, and we come face to face with Janson himself. I feel my hand tighten around my gun as he stands in front of me.

“You're working late.” He says to Teresa. She nods awkwardly. “See, that's what I like about you, Teresa. No matter how bleak things get, you just... Well, you never give up. Times like this, you need a friend that you can count on.” I roll my eyes in the mask. He wouldn’t know how to be a friend even if he’d read Friendship for Dummies. 

“I'll bear that in mind.” Teresa responds.

“There is one thing you should know. One friend to another. Thomas is here. A surveillance picked him up outside the walls. Ava didn't want you to know, but there is a chance that he may try to contact you, and if he does, I'd like to think that I'd be your first call.” You have to be kidding me! What are the chances?

“Are you going to kill him?” Teresa finally looks at Janson.

“Would that be a problem?” He questions. Teresa doesn’t respond, and fortunately is saved by the bell.

“This is me.” She murmurs and exits the lift. We all follow trying not to draw attention to ourselves. I refuse to look back at Janson knowing that if I did, I would shoot him. 

“Thomas, you have to listen to me. Getting that serum won't save Newt. It might buy him some time, but...” Teresa pleads.

“Just ignore her. She's trying to get inside your head.” Newt grabs her arm and pushes her forward a bit.

“Thomas, listen. You know what's going on out there. People are dying. The world is dying. There's something about your blood I don't understand.” We reach the doors to the medical wing.

“Open it.” Thomas demands.

“If you let me run some tests... I promise I can protect you,” Teresa tries again. I stand behind Thomas, not having a good feeling about this. I was quickly proven right. Thomas angrily threw off his mask and glared at Teresa.

“Yeah? Like you protected Minho? What are you doing? How many people is it gonna take? How many more people do they have to round up, torture, kill? Huh? When the hell does it stop?” Thomas shouted.

“It stops when we find a cure,” she implores him.

“There is no goddamn cure!” Thomas shouts.

“Don't waste your breath, Teresa. He made his choice long ago.” Janson’s voice echoes through the empty corridors. My gun flies up and points at him directly. I inch back slightly so I’m protected from the guards coming up the sides of us.

“Drop it, kid!” One of them shouts.

“Back up.” When it’s clear that Janson isn’t listening, Thomas grabs Teresa and puts his gun to her head. “Tell them to back off. Tell them to back off!” Thomas screams.

“Hey, Thomas, come on. It's me. I've known you longer than you can remember. You're not gonna shoot her.” Janson says snidely.

“You don't think so?” Thomas challenges.

“Okay. Go on then. Shoot her. Prove me wrong. Shoot her.” Janson puts down his gun and smirks at us.

“Now Teresa,” I whisper, I grab the back of Thomas’s uniform and pull him back to me and Teresa pushes him away and pulls down the fire switch. A bulletproof fire door drops down between us and Janson and Teresa. I rip off my mask and glare at Janson as he shoots the glass, trying to get to us. When he notices me, he stops shooting and starts shouting to the others. The glass shields us from what he’s saying but he looks very angry. This actually makes me smile as I run off after the boys. I slip a quick look to Teresa before I leave, and she nods minutely. 

I catch up with the boys as we enter the medical wing.

“Walk like we belong,” I whisper as we enter. We walk through the halls checking the rooms for Minho when we hear Janson shouting. We duck down into one of the labs. I look around the lab.

“Come on, come on,” I whisper to myself. I rifle through the drawers and cabinets looking for what I need.

“What are you doing?” Newt hisses. I turn and give him a flirty wink.

“Coming up with a plan. Queen of backups remember?” I smirk at his slightly red face and hold in a cheer, when I find what I’m looking for. A small syringe with a clear liquid on the side. I take 3 and pocket them, hoping they will be safe until I need to use them. I duck back down with them until the guard’s pass. We exit the lab quietly and continue searching the halls. We come around a corner and Thomas stops. Standing up ahead of us is Ava Paige. I throw up my gun but before I can take the shot another shot knocks me off. Coming down another corridor is Janson, shooting wildly. Newt pulls us back and we take off running. We run from corridor to corridor, dodging bullets and shooting back when we can. We duck round one corner, and I check my bullets.

“Not doing so great guys!” I call.

“Me either. Almost out!” Thomas shouts. Newt looks around before rushing towards a fallen guard. He pulls out an electric grenade and holds it up with a grin. I raise an eyebrow.

“Get down!” He shouts and throw’s it at the oncoming guards. It goes off when it hits the floor and takes them all out at once. We stand and inspect the damage.

“Nice.” Thomas says. I look at Newt.

“What?” He asks. I smirk.

“Is it weird that you are like 3x hotter to me?” I shrug. Newt and Thomas laugh, but our reprieve is cut short when another guard comes around the corner. We run off down the corridor. “I’m not even kidding!” I laugh but stop when a guard stands in front of us, gun raised.

“You three, freeze! Get down on the ground. Now! I said get your...” The guard didn’t get to finish his sentence however, because a very angry Minho came flying round the corner, barrelling into him and throwing him into a wall. He then grabbed his shoulders and pushed him through a glass window. He stopped and stared at us. I blinked a couple of times to make sure what we were seeing was real.

“Minho.” Thomas whispers and we all surged forward and hugged him. He was here! He was alive! I pulled back and gave him a once over to make sure he wasn’t too damaged.

“You’re okay,” I say softly to him stroking his face.

“Is this real?” He asks, but we don’t get to answer as more guards round the far corner.

“Go, GO!” I shout and we continue running.

“Okay, it’s real,” Minho laughs manically. We run around another corner, whilst Janson rounds the other end. We’re surrounded.

“In here, in here,” Thomas pushes us into a little room, with no other doors and a wall full of windows. Oh good.

“Newt, come on,” Minho and Newt push a cabinet in front of the door. I look out the window and see a large body of water below us. I give Thomas a ‘They’re not gonna like this look’. He shrugs as if saying, ‘what else can we do?’ I nod in agreement.

“Oh, shit. Any ideas?” Minho looks towards Thomas and me. We look at each other again.

“Maybe,” We say in unison.

“We’ve gotta jump,” I say simply nodding to the window.

“Are you crazy?” Minho shouts, looking horrified.

“Maybe,” I nod briefly. “What other options do we have?” Minho and Newt look at each other before shrugging and run to help Thomas grab a huge metal container and throw it through the window. It lands squarely in the middle of the water.

“Okay, it's doable. Just need a little running start.” Thomas suggests, taking a few steps back form the window. We all go to join him. 

“You sure about this?” Minho asks.

“Not really.” I say.

“Nice pep talk,” He responds snarkily.

“Yeah, we're all bloody inspired,” I feel Newt chuckle next to me. I turn to look at him and give him a grin.

“Together, right?” He nods and holds out his hand. I take it as the door is kicked in behind us.

“Oh shit!” Thomas shouts as we all run and jump out the window. The wind rushes past us and we crash into the water below. My body aches and I force myself not to gasp as I hit the water. I push myself us and gasp as I break the surface. We swim to the edge and pull ourselves out. I look at how far we jumped.

“Not gonna lie, amazed that worked,” I joke.

“You three, don't move,” I spin around and find four guns pointed at us.

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me,” Thomas groans.

“Take it easy. Uh-uh-uh! Don't even think about it. Get on your knees with your hands in the air.” We are about to comply when the 4th guard turns and shoots the other three. We stare at him in shock. He runs forward and pulls of his mask.

“You son of a bitch.” Thomas swears at Gally.

“Gally?” Minho gapes at him.

“Minho.” Gally nods back. He flicks his eyes up to the broken window and then back to us. “You guys are nuts.” I chuckle and follow after him.

“I'll explain later.” I hear Thomas mutter to Minho. We manage to avoid all the patrols and duck down behind a tree. I go over to Newt and Minho. Newt is looking even worse.

“Newt, how are you feeling?” Minho asks worried. I kneel down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Terrible.” Newt chokes out a laugh, “It's good to see you though.” Minho smiles and walks over to Thomas and Gally.

“Am I still pretty?” Newt jokes softly. I nod and blink a tear away. I can feel my plan unravelling at the edges and that realisation tightens round my heart.

“Always.” I croak out, brushing my fingers through his wet hair. “We gotta keep going okay?” He nods and I help him stand. As we do, he falters and almost falls but Thomas rushes in and catches him before he does.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! You okay?” Thomas asks us. I can’t answer because for the first time in a while, I’m not sure I am.


	32. The Cure

Chapter 6

We make it to the main street not far from the tunnels. Newt can no longer walk on his own and Thomas and Minho are basically carrying him. We duck down as a huge barricade is made of cars and guns by the guards. I stare at it. They are just waiting.

“What are they waiting for?” Minho asks. I turn to answer when a huge explosion goes off. A huge roar starts to come from the streets and before we can move hundreds of people starts running and shooting at the guards. We’re almost laying on the ground to avoid the crossfire.

“We need to move!” Gally shouts. The boys grab Newt and we make our way into a building to avoid the firefight. Gally and Thomas swap so that Thomas can tell Brenda to leave with the kids. The kids and the serum. I kneel down in front of Newt, who’s dark eyes are turning orange around the edges and who’s coughing up a gungy black liquid, that drips down his chin. I run my thumb over his chin to wipe it away.

“We’re almost there,” I say to him.

“I can’t,” he whispers back. I hold back the tears and shake my head.

“Course you can. We finish this together. Remember. That’s what you said,” My hands shake in his.

“I know,” he croaks, “but I’m not going to make it.”

“Don’t be stupid. You’re gonna be fine,” I lie, if Brenda is leaving with the serum and this riot stops me from getting the cure from Teresa, then I can’t help him.

“Kira, I love you.” He whimpers.

“Shut up. You’re not saying goodbye to me.”

“Please…” he moans in pain.

“No. I’m not losing you. I can’t. Okay. You can’t leave me.” I can feel tears rolling down my cheeks now, the inevitability of the situation hitting me like a train.

“You might have too,” He whispers again.

“No, we will find the cure eventually. Even if I have to dose you with serum for the rest of our lives,” I ramble.

He chuckles. “Our lives?”

I smile, “You really think I’d go anywhere without you? After everything we have been through?”

He coughs again. “Wouldn’t blame you.”

I shake my head. “No. Who knows, you might leave me. Find someone prettier or smarter.”

Now it’s Newt’s turn to shake his head. “No never.” I nod.

“Well, there you go then. We’re in this together til the very end. You can’t leave me now. We’re going to reach the safe place and we are going to be happy. Finally.”

Newt smiles up at me. “I am happy.”

I shake my head again, “I’m not. The man I love is dying and there is nothing I can do to stop it!” I cry.

Newt straightens a bit. “Not dead yet,” He croaks.

I nod and sniff hastily, wiping away the tears that had started to fall. “That’s the spirit. I love you.”

He nods. “Love you too.” I kiss his sweaty forehead before standing and moving out the way so Thomas and Minho can run with him again. Thomas pulls me aside.

“Our ride’s here,” He grins. I blow out a massive breath.

“And the serum?” He nods.

“They’re coming.” I look at Newt.

“Not dead yet, right?” He nods as much as he can, and we run. We run as fast as we can, attempting to avoid the fighting. We run into an alley, when a car explosion makes us fall back. Newt falls to the floor coughing more black liquid up. Thomas and Minho cradle his head whilst I stand back not knowing what to do. We are so close. Maybe the plan will work. It could still work.

“All right. Newt, we're almost there.” Thomas encourages, but Newts had enough. He slumps to then floor.

“Just leave me.” The boys sound their no’s whilst a loud whirring causes me to look up. A large, familiar helicopter flies above our heads. Yes! It’s here.

“Okay, that's them.”

“We gotta go. We gotta go.” Minho tries to get Newt up. 

“Go without me, man. You should just...” Newt tries again but it falls on deaf ears.

“Minho. You gotta run ahead, grab the serum, and get back to us as soon as you can. Minho, go.” Thomas shouts. He looks at me and I nod frantically.

“It’s our only option,” I agree.

“They’re right. I can cover.” Gally says. Minho looks at Newt.

“Thank you. Thank you, Minho,” Newt croaks.

“Hey, you just hang on. You hear me?” Minho shouts before running off with Gally on his tail.

Newt’s eyes start to glass over. “Newt? Newt? Hey! Hey! Newt! Hey! We're gonna try this. Okay? We gotta move, now. Let's get you up, come on. Let's go, come on.” Thomas tried to get Newt to stand but Newt frantically starts tugging at the necklace he’s wearing til it snaps off his neck.

“No. No, Thomas.” Newt tries.

“No, Newt. Later. Later. Really gotta go. Come on.” I get on Newt’s other side trying to tug him up.

“Please Newt, please help us.” I whisper. He looks at me directly.

“Look, you gotta take this.” I shake my head.

“No, we gotta get you up, now.” Newt screams in frustration.

“No, just take it! Please. Please, Kira. Please.” Tears start rolling down his cheeks. I take the necklace and put it in my pocket.

“All right. All right.” I kiss him on the head. “Together, okay?”

“I need you to give me everything you got. You and me, right now. Let's go. You ready? Come on, ready? Here we go. One, two, three.” Thomas hauls Newt up as we run out into the streets heading for the helicopter. We run as far as we can making it to the train station, before Newt finally falls. I kneel down beside him as his breathing becomes shallow.

“It’s time.” I murmur to myself

“Time for what?” Thomas shouts, but before I can answer a voice rings through the city.

“Thomas? Can you hear me? I need you to listen to me. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I need you to come back. Thomas, you can save Newt. Kira. We can save him.” Thomas turns and looks at us. “There's still time for him. There's a reason Brenda isn't sick anymore. It's your blood. Do you understand? She isn't sick, because you cured her. She doesn't have to be the only one. All you have to do is come back. And this will all finally be over. Please. Just come back to me. I know you'll do the right thing.” Thomas looks at me.

“She’s right. About this. And I’m right too.” I look down at Newt. “We’re in this together,” I mutter before pulling a syringe out of my jacket pocket and stabbing him in the neck with it. His unregulated breathing calms and slows as the sedative does its work. Thomas runs towards me.

“What did you do?” He cries.

“Put him to sleep. It’s a sedative. Look Teresa is right. That’s why I helped her get away from us. She’s making us the cure. Right now. But you have to go. I’ll join you as soon as I get him to safety. I promise. Please Thomas. Do this for him. Please.” Thomas nods slowly and backs off. “Go,” I whisper as he runs off, back towards the WICKED building.

I run my fingers through his hair, his head in my lap. Footsteps make me pull out my gun and point it at whoever’s coming, but I drop it again when Brenda rounds the corner. She’s see’s Newt lying in my lap and dried tear tracks on my face.

“Kira…” she starts.

I shake my head. “No, he’s not dead!” I gently rest his head on the ground, as Brenda walks over. “He’s just sedated.” I pull the two other syringes from my pocket. “I have to help Thomas. Umm, if he rouses, sedate him again. If you run out of sedative then administer the serum, but don’t do it unless you don’t have another choice okay?” She nods, as Gally, Fry and Minho around the corner. They see Newt lying on the floor and their faces drop. I shake my head again. “Nope, not dead! Sleeping. Brenda will fill you in. I have to go.” I start to move backwards. “Remember…” I start but am cut off.

“Sedate if he wakes, serum if I don’t have a choice,” Brenda finishes.

“Where are you going?” Minho shouts.

“To get the cure! He’s not dying today!” I shout back as I run in Thomas’s footsteps.

The building is deathly quiet when I arrive. I creep around the pillars silently, just as I was trained. I stop when I see Janson standing over Thomas, the body of Ava Paige bleeding out beside him. I keep quiet when Janson picks up Thomas, throws him over his shoulder and heads towards the lifts. What Janson doesn’t realise it that ever since Lawrence hacked into their systems, you don’t need a thumbprint anymore. I wait for the lift to leave and follow. The medical wing – how predictable. I’m thankful that WICKED has moved past a dinging lift as the doors open silently. The floor is empty so finding Janson is not hard. I peek around the corner and see Thomas strapped to a bed, Janson facing him and Teresa facing me. I wave my hands and catch Teresa’s eye. I don’t know what Janson is rambling about, but he seems very caught up in his monologue, because he doesn’t notice when Teresa bends down and rolls a blue vial of liquid towards me. I smirk and grab it, stashing it away in the most secure place I’ve got, before pulling back just before Janson turns around.

“How much longer?” Janson spits at Teresa.

“It's almost done.” She says meekly.

“Why don't you just kill me?” Thomas snarls at Janson.

“Kill you? No, we don't wanna do that. We're gonna take special care of you. We'll keep you alive. Just,” Thomas fights in his restraints at that. Janson just laughs and continues. “And in return, you will give life to the rest of us.” He plucks the cure out of Teresa’s hand and turns back to Thomas. I poke my head round the corner and give her a nod. “The ones we choose to save, anyway. Of course, there's not gonna be enough for everyone. Hard choices are gonna have to be made. In time, the Flare virus will burn itself out. The only question is, who will be the ones left standing? And thanks to you, to this, we finally get to choose. A future of our own making. To your health.” Teresa creeps up behind Janson and before he can inject himself smashes him over the head with a glass vase. I jump up racing into the room and help Teresa undo Thomas’s straps.

“Kira?” Thomas gasps. I give him a grin.

“Newt’s safe. We just have to get back to him now.” He nods as struggles with the straps trying to loosen them. I’m so focused on the straps I don’t notice that Janson is no longer on the floor. He grabs Teresa throwing her over the table. I continue trying to get Thomas free, hoping that Teresa can look after herself.

“Get back here. Get back!” Janson shouts at Teresa as she crawls under the desks away from him.

“No!” Thomas shouts. Janson grabs Teresa slamming her head into a table, knocking her out.

We finally manage to get Thomas free and he charges off the table, tackling Janson through a window. I run over to Teresa, shaking her.

“Teresa, come on. Wake up!” I whisper, peering over the table, seeing Janson and Thomas in a fist fight. I wince as Janson takes Thomas’s own shirt and attempts to strangle him with it. A groan at my feet alerts me to Teresa’s awakening state. Hoping she’ll be okay, I creep round the lab keeping my eye on Janson, getting to the door just in time to see Janson punch Thomas is the face so hard that Thomas struggles to get back up. I charge forwards and jump on Janson’s back holding my arm tight round his throat. Janson gasps for breath and backs heavily into a wall, slamming me into it. I gasp but refuse to loosen my grip. Janson switches tactics and flips me over the top of him leaving me sprawling out on the floor.

“Ah, Kira. How nice of you to join us!” Janson sneers. “I had wondered whether you had been killed out there, but apparently not. All the more fun for me I guess!” I sneer as Thomas and I charge at him. Punch after punch hits him. He gets a lucky knee into Thomas’s stomach causing him to fall to the floor, drawing my attention away from Janson for a second, but that was all he needed. Janson grans my hair and slams my head into the wall, over and over again until I too drop to the floor. A rushing noise in my ear makes it hard to focus but I scramble back to Thomas as Teresa makes her way out the lab as well.

“Okay. That's enough,” Janson says, pulling out his gun from its holster. He points it at us about to fire when two large missiles rush past us and hit the building. The whole building shakes causing us to fall. Janson’s on the floor so we take the distraction and run. Gunshots from behind us tell us Janson is up. I notice my ability to walk in a straight line has been affected by the wall facial I got, as I almost fall over just by dodging out of the way.

Thomas shouts “Teresa!” Pulling her out of the way of a close bullet and pulls us into a side room. The doors hiss as we enter. The first thing I notice about this room is it’s a lab. Surprise surprise! The second and slightly more important thing I notice about this room, is the cage of cranks it has along one wall. They snarl and bang on the glass cell they are in, angrily trying to reach us.

“We need to get out of here,” Teresa spins round looking for a way out, but a groan from Thomas caused us to look at him.

“What's wrong? Thomas? Thomas!” He turns so that we can see the blooming patch of blood growing on his shirt.

“Oh shit,” I curse, kneeling down and pulling up his shirt to get a better look.

“Okay. Okay, we need to... Oh, shit...” Teresa panics. I rifle through the drawers to find some cloth or soothing. I find some gauze in a drawer and push it into Thomas’s hands.

“Here. Here! Just put pressure on it. Hold it.” I say and I hold it against his stomach.

“You gotta go. Both of you. You gotta go.” I shake my head at the stupidness of the idea.

“No. Not without you.” Teresa says. I nod. Thomas turns his head towards me.

“What about Newt?” I smile.

“You really think he’d ever forgive me if I let you die?” I raise an eyebrow. He goes to speak but a loud hissing alerts us to Janson’s presence.

“Kira…” Janson sings my name. I silently pass the gauze to Teresa, telling her to stay with him. I creep round the lab, drawing Janson’s attention away from the pair. “Come on, Kira. Come have some fun. I didn’t just teach you how to hide.” I throw a petri dish at the far corner which smashes causing Janson to spin around, leaving me open to sneak past. “Come on. Let's not prolong this. We both know there's no way outta here. Let's not make this any more painful than it needs to be.” I continue to sneak around the room.

“Thomas. Teresa. You have something of mine.” Janson calls, getting closer and closer to them. This is it. Time to face him. I step out from my hiding spot and stand in front of the crank cage.

“Janson,” I say, gun raised. Janson spins and faces me, gun also raised.

“Where is he, Kira?” I raise an eyebrow.

“Where’s who?” I decide to play dumb. Probably not the best idea but I can’t really think straight.

“You all think he's so special? He's a lab rat. He was born with a gift. He never had to fight for it, he never earned it. He doesn't deserve it.” I narrow my eyes.

“Maybe. But it's his.” I snap. Janson rolls his eyes.

“What about you, Thomas? What do you have to say? Don't you have enough blood on your hands already?” I pray that Thomas stays quiet and for once he does. “Fine. Have it your way. You’ve been a pain in my arse for the longest time. Time to end it I think.” And Janson shoots.


	33. The Safe Haven

Chapter 7

I dive out of the way, landing hard on my side. I keep low causing Janson to stand where I stood originally to see me.

“I won’t miss this time, you little bitch.” He snarls, but I just grin in response.

“What makes you think you missed last time?” I respond, as a loud crack from beside Janson makes his eyes widen. “Buh Bye,” I give him a little wave as the glass smashes and the cranks dive on top of him, tearing him limb from limb. I work my way around trying to avoid seeing too much of the festivities. I grab Thomas and Teresa and we run out of the room, back into the madness of the main building.

The whole building is on fire! The heat grows ever warmer as Teresa and I support Thomas, practically dragging him along the corridors. We make it to the stairwell and head down but are stopped by an explosion on the lower floors.

“We’ve got to go up!” I scream and Teresa nods, helping me pull Thomas up the stairs to the roof. Please God let the others come help us! We manage to pull Thomas onto the roof, but the sigh makes me gasp. The whole roof is shrouded in fire and smoke. Thomas falls and Teresa cradles him. I look at them and can’t help but see Newt. He needs me and I failed. I can’t get to him.

“Please forgive me, Newt,” I whisper, looking out at the burning city. I sink to my knees, praying that he knew how I felt. I turned to see Thomas and Teresa kiss, but had to look away as my heart felt like it was going to burst. “I’m so sorry,” I whimper into my hands. A sudden gust of wind and a bright light makes me shield my face. No fucking way. Jorge’s jovial face stress back at me out of the helicopter window. “HA HA!!” I scream. I jump up and run to Teresa and Thomas, helping Thomas to his feet and pull him over to the edge. Jorge has turned the bird round and the hatch is slowly opening, to show Minho, Brenda and Vince? The bird moves back and forth, Vince’s outstretched hand moving with it.

“Thomas! Kira! Give me your hand!” Just as Thomas manages to grab it the heli moves away and Vince drops it.

“Get closer!” I shout.

“Jump!” Vince yells back. I see and opportunity and I go for it. The bird rocks forwards and back and then forward and PUSH! Teresa and I push Thomas into a jump and he lands in the arms of the boys who quickly pull him in.

“Now you, Kira. Come on girl.” Vince cries.

“It’s too high!” Teresa shouts.

“Lower! No! You gotta get closer.” I shout to Vince. I see him shouting back as a loud crash from behind me and the panicked stares of my friends tells me that something very not good has just happened. I grab Teresa’s hand.

“Together!” I shout to her. She nods and we take a few steps back. “GO!” I shout and we run. We leap off the edge my hand grabbing Vince’s securely but Teresa slipping out of Minho’s. I keep my grip on Teresa’s hand refusing to let go. I feel multiple hands on my arm pulling me up slowly. The hands on my arm start to slip.

“Kira!” Vince shouts from above me but I keep my eyes focused on Teresa’s panicked stare.

“Let me go!” Teresa screams. “This is all my fault! There is no point in us both dying!” I shake my head.

“No! I’m not giving up on you!” I scream and I pull up the hand holding Teresa hoping to raise her enough that the others would be able to grab her. My arm burns and my shoulder feels like it’s about to dislocate when Minho reaches down and grabs Teresa’s arm. The others to grab hold of her as well, making it easy to pull us both up. I flop onto the helicopter floor, trying to get my breath back. I close my eyes and focus on the voices of my friends, the coolness of the floor and the sensation of flying to try and focus my brain. I open my eyes and slowly sit up, looking around me. My friends, my family and some newcomers smile back at me. Brenda comes up to me and hugs me tightly. I wince at the pressure on my shoulder, but her words bring me back to reality.

“I’ve used two. Did you get it?” She says, and I remember the small vial tucked into my bra. I pull it out, hold it up and smile at her. She passes me a syringe from the med kit and I gently walk over to Newt. He’s laying on his back, still looking as rough as when I left him, but still breathing slowly and steadily. I kneel down beside him, stroke his hair out of his face and slowly inject the cure into his neck. I don’t know what I expected to happen, but I expected something to happen. But it didn’t. Newt just continued to lay there, peacefully asleep.

“It doesn’t work straight away,” Brenda puta a hand on my shoulder. “Didn’t with me, remember?” I smile. She is right, it didn’t just go away. It took time. I sigh and look round at the rest of the room. Jorge’s flying, Vince, Brenda, Frypan, Minho, Teresa, Gally and a bunch of new greenies are all smiling, and Thomas is passed out on the floor. Nothing’s changed then. I smile at my surroundings. We did it.

2 weeks later

These last two weeks have been the craziest, best and worst two weeks of my entire life. We got the boat working. I spent most of the journey down in the cabin watching Newt. It took 2 days for the veins in his face to go down and over a week for the orange in his eyes to go. He was almost back to normal. I sat next to him, stroking his wrist watching, and waiting for the day when those veins receded too. When we reached our ‘Safe Haven’ which ended up being a beautiful beach, surrounded by forest on one side, water on the other. It was perfect. Everything I could ever have imagined. As soon as we arrived, we moved Newt and Thomas (who was also still unconscious) into a small med tent so we could an eye on both of them at the same time. The Safe Haven grew around us, much like the Glade did when we first arrived. Food areas, and crop areas and sleeping areas were all put in place. Everyone was happy. Everyone was safe. Teresa and I spent most of our time in the med tent, although I did persuade her to leave and make peace with our friends. She had provided the cure for Newt after all. It took a few days, but most came around, even Vince after she explained what we did to Janson, eventually forgave her as well.

It was exactly two weeks after we had escaped the city when a groaning pulls me from my sleep. Thomas is moving around in his bed, eyes blinking open. I smile and walk over to his bedside. He blinks his eyes, getting used to the sudden sunshine and eventually focuses in on me.

“Kira?” He croaks. I smile and pass him some water.

“Drink this,” I say. Thomas starts to gulp it down. “Slowly… slowly.” He slows. He places the cup down when its empty and looks over at Newt in the bed next to him.

“Is he…?” He questions.

“He’s alive, and from what we are seeing, we believe cured.” I sigh and look at him, brushing some hair out of his eyes. “All we need now is for him to wake up.” I sigh again and turn back to him. I nod towards the door. “You should go and see if you’re feeling up to it.” He nods and slowly gets up from the bed. He stretches out his stiff muscles and heads out through the door. I follow him to the doorway.

“Whoa,” he gapes at our surroundings. I shield my eyes against the sunlight and smile at him.

“Not so bad, huh?” He smirks at me and heads off towards the main camp. I turn and sit back in my chair, taking hold of Newts arm again. I gasp and run my fingers along his now completely clean skin; the veins having finally receded back clearing him of the virus once and for all. Now all we needed was for him to wake up.

I fall back asleep, for a good few hours, if the crick in my neck is anything to go by when I wake up. I come too and feel a hand brush along my cheek. I bat the hand away, before opening my eyes fully. My gaze focuses in on Newt’s bed – now EMPTY! I snap my gaze to the figure in the doorway, and there he is, illuminated by the noon sunlight. His golden hair shines and his outline limps towards me slowly. I stand and touch his face, not believing for a second that he is real.

“I’m real,” he mutters. I roll my eyes before I can stop myself.

“How do you always do that?” He grins before gripping my waist with his hands, and pulling me in.

“Because I love you,” he whispers in my ear before kissing me. My arms wrap around his neck, whilst his curl around my waist and we just hold each other as close as we can. I pull back for air and rest my forehead on his.

“I can’t believe it worked. We did it.” He pulls back from me. A burst of glee fills me, so I grab his face and pepper it with kisses. He’s here! He’s here. Newt laughs and bats me away before pulling me into a deep kiss. He pulls back with a look of amusement which quickly shift to confusion.

“That’s a good point. How am I still here?” I smile and take his hand.

“Do you remember when I was rummaging around that lab back in WICKED HQ?” He nods, still confused. “Well, I was looking for a sedative. When you collapsed at the train station, I sedated you, then went back to WICKED with Thomas for the cure.”

Newt shook his head. “The cure? You found it?”

I nod gently. “It was Thomas. Thomas’s blood. That’s why Brenda healed but no-one else did. Teresa and I had suspicions, so I helped her escape when we had her in WICKED with a sample of Thomas’ blood.”

Newt raised an eyebrow, “You did what?”

“I may have helped her escape. But it’s thanks to her that we got the cure. She made it. She saved your life.” I try to make Newt understand, but he just smiles at me.

“And then you saved mine…” Teresa spoke form the doorway. “Hi Newt.” He turns to face Teresa.

“I have you to thank apparently.”

Teresa shook her head. “It was the least I could do.”

Newt and I didn’t disagree. I just smile and take Newt’s hand. “You wanna see?” Newt nods eagerly and we head out of the tent. We slowly walk towards the main camp, Newt actively looking at everything that’s happening. We walk up to the main campfire, where our friends have just noticed us arriving. Minho and Thomas jump from their seats and run towards us tackling both Newt and I in a hug.

“You really did it! You’re really here!” Minho shouts, jumping up and down with Newt in his grip. Newt laughs at Minho’s antics but jumps up and down with him all the same. Everyone piles round to hug Newt, so I take a step back to give them some room. Vince walks up to me and drapes an arm around my shoulder.

“She’d have been proud you know. Mary.” He says softly. I blink back some tears as I think about her. What she would have given to see this place.

“Thank you,” I whisper back giving Vince a side hug. He kisses the top of my head and goes to welcome Newt back into the fold. The rest of the day runs smoothly. We show the boys what we have been doing for the last week, how we’ve been settling in. I watch as Jak and his friends run about on the beach messing about and laughing and smile. He was pissed when we got back that we had left him behind but forgave us pretty quickly when Minho showed up. I sit with my family and talk about this amazing new place that we live in now. Evening comes quickly, and to celebrate our new beginning we light a huge fire. Vince steps forward and makes a speech.

“We have come a long way together. So many have sacrificed so much to make this place possible. Your friends and your family. So, here's to the ones who couldn't be here. Here's to the friends we lost. This place is for you. It's for all of us. But this…” Vince gestures to a large stone pillar behind him. “…this is for them. So, in your own time, in your own way, come make your peace. And welcome to the Safe Haven!!” Vince ends in celebratory roar which echoes around the campfire, everyone raising their glasses in celebration and mourning. Newt sits between my legs, leaning his head back against my stomach and looks up at me.

“I’m sure that’s a great angle,” I laugh, as I look down at his grinning face.

He smiles, “Every angle for you is a good angle.” I roll my eyes at him but lean down and kiss his nose gently.

“Thank you.”

He smirks and turns to Minho. “I think we will be happy here,” he says simply. Minho nods.

“Yeah, I think we will.” I tap Newt on the shoulder, and he leans forward so that I can go and stand by the pillar. Vince has just finished carving Mary’s name and fondly brushes his hand over it. I stand beside him and brush my own hand over it. He wraps an arm around my shoulder as we watch the others carve names in. I feel a few tears fall as Gally carves Chuck’s name, and when Minho carves Ben’s and Winston’s. I walk up to Brenda.

“Do you want to carve George’s name, or do you want me too?” She blinks back a tear before taking the chisel.

The night ends with the pillar covered in the names of the dead; of the people who sacrificed themselves to get us here. It’s an amazing reminder of where we came from and makes us appreciate where we are now.

Newt and I walk hand in hand down the beach in silence, listening to the waves and breathing in the cool night air. We stop and watch as the large ship that brought us here bumps up and down on the waves. I look up at Newt’s face, glowing in the moonlight, and run my fingers through his hair. He closes his eyes at the feeling but opens them soon to look at me.

“So, what are we going to do for the rest of our lives?” He jokes. I shrug.

“Whatever we want,” I answer.

“So long as we are together.” He smiles down at me.

And I was never alone again.

**THE END**


End file.
